Statement at NDMO-UNICEF-OCHA Emergency Preparedness and Response Workshop

Statement at NDMO-UNICEF-OCHA Emergency Preparedness and Response Workshop

8 May 2016

Kish Island, Iran

Gary Lewis

UN Resident Coordinator

Honourable Deputy Minister Najjar,

Distinguished guests from Government Ministries and Organizations,

Colleagues from UN agencies,

Ladies and Gentleman,

Good morning and Welcome to Kish Island.

I am pleased to speak today at the opening ceremony of the “workshop on emergency preparedness and response”, organized jointly by the Ministry of Interior’s NDMO[1], UNICEF and OCHA.

Globally whenever there is a disaster or a humanitarian catastrophe, the UN is on the ground supporting governments in providing relief, support and assistance to people.

From the population displacements caused by war, weather and natural disasters, to the impact of such disruptions on health, hygiene, education, nutrition and even basic shelter, the UN agencies make their services available to the affected population within the framework of their cooperation agreements with the governments.

As we all know, Iran ranks as one of the most disaster prone countries in the world.

Floods, drought and earthquakes all beset us.

That’s why emergency preparedness and response has always been high on the priority agenda of the Government of Iran’s national plans and also those of the UN.

We note that the national capacity to prepare for and respond to emergencies in Iran – as a Middle-Income Country – has improved significantly in recent years.

And we are pleased to see that the Government of Iran is so keen to seek further improvement in this area.

In such an advanced context and with several potential players in preparedness and response including the NDMO, the IRCS[2] and other sectoral ministries, it’s necessary for all organizations to work hand in hand in a well-coordinated manner to ensure that the most appropriate and timeliest preparedness and response is happening, when needed, and that not a single affected human being is abandoned – unsupported.

Our aim is to also prevent duplication of efforts and waste of resources.

With this in mind many of the UN agencies who have the capacity for emergency response form a Disaster Management Team. Of the 7 sectors which are managed by this process, UNICEF leads on 4 – education, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), child protection and nutrition.

More specifically, in all the emergencies and disasters, whether man-made or natural, there are groups among the population who are the most vulnerable and therefore the most affected by the aftermaths. Such a group is “Women and Children”.

This is where UNICEF comes in to make essential interventions in the areas of survival, health, nutrition, education and protection of children.

In addition to UNICEF, today’s event is being supported by OCHA – the Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. OCHA is responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies.

Beyond all this, the UN together with its partners works to prevent disasters whenever possible.

We are in the forefront of addressing the perils of climate change, which has already begun to increase the number and intensity of “natural” disaster situations worldwide.

In conclusion, I would like to wish you all good luck in attending this workshop and hope the results are most helpful for guiding our future work in the emergency sector.

Let me wrap up with this quote I once heard:

• “In life’s most unacceptable situations, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

Let’s always try to be part of the solution – and a very big part.

Thank you all for coming and for your support.

[1]National Disaster Management Organization

[2]The Iranian Red Crescent Society