The need for resilient health systems capable of delivering quality sexual and reproductive health, and the crucial role of women in reducing disaster risks, will be discussed during a special side event organized by UNFPA at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR). The conference takes place from 14 to 18 March in Sendai, Japan.
During the UNFPA event, high-level panelists will underline the importance of strong health systems for mitigating disaster risks - using the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as a case study - and highlight the need for preparedness and response at the national, regional and global levels. They will also discuss what is required to put women, the backbone of communities’ resilience, at the centre of the post-2015 disaster risk reduction efforts.
The UNFPA event will take place on Sunday, 15 March, at Tohoku University Kawauchi-kita Campus in Sendai. The discussions will be organized around two sessions, both followed by Q&As with the panelists.
The first session: Resilience in the Context of Ebola: Ensuring the Development-Response-Recovery Nexus of Quality Sexual and Reproductive Health will be held from 9:00 am to 10:30 am.
The second session: Putting Women and Girls at the Center: A responsibility and an Opportunity will follow from 10:45 am until noon.
Panelist will include: Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UNFPA (Chair); Ms. Miata Gbanya, Deputy Chairman, Incident Management Systems for Ebola Response, Ministry of Health, Liberia; Ms. Sumie Ishii, Executive Director, JOICFP; Dr. Remi Sogunro, UNFPA Representative, Liberia; Ms. Anjali Sen, South Asia Regional Director, International Planned Parenthood Federation; Mr. Agus Wibowo, Head of Data Division, Centre of Data, BNPB, Indonesia; Ms. Doina Bologa, UNFPA Representative, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
