“In Preparedness and Response, Reaching Communities Should Be ‘First Mile’, Not the Last”

IFRC Secretary General Elhadj As Sy has issued an impassioned plea for smarter humanitarian response to climate-related disasters and greater investment ahead of crises. Speaking on a high-level panel at the end of the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s annual ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment, Mr Sy presented ideas for how communities can be helped to withstand predictable shocks, recover faster, and operate from a “very different baseline”.

He told the panel, firstly, that “we collectively need to be smarter in the way we prepare for, anticipate and respond to climate disasters or shocks, and we need to invest at a much larger scale ahead of crises,” something the international community was still struggling to do. He added that “we need to recognize that improving responses and reducing the risks of climate-related displacement requires a starting point of community resilience… We need to strengthen the ability of communities to bounce back without having to leave homes and livelihoods in search of safer places.”

Mr Sy argued that displacement was “still often seen solely through the prism of migration – it seems that we still design solutions based on how to address migration rather than the actual needs of people.” Thirdly, he said, “we will only succeed if we empower local organizations to manage climate shocks and climate-disaster response...