October 13.
Under this year’s theme, “Funding for Resilience, Not Disasters,” International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 calls for a decisive shift: mobilize funds for resilience now to avoid paying for disasters later. Financing is the single challenge that unites the disaster, climate, development, and humanitarian sectors. The increasing number of disasters each year, many of which are driven and exacerbated by climate change, threatens the well-being of children and youth. According to UNICEF, nearly one billion children worldwide are at extreme risk due to climate impacts, including climate-related disasters. In 2022, the number of children affected by floods in Chad, Gambia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh was the highest in 30 years. Beyond the risk of death and injury, children face post-disaster impacts such as disruptions to schooling, nutrition and healthcare, and protection issues. To protect children from disasters, countries must consider their vulnerabilities and needs when designing national and local disaster risk reduction strategies. It is equally important to empower children and youth and provide them with “spaces and methods to contribute to disaster risk reduction,” as stated in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This also aligns with the call to action in the Political Declaration of the Mid-Term Review of the Sendai Framework, which calls for the “full, equal, meaningful and inclusive participation” of youth and the promotion of a “culture of disaster prevention.” Empowering children, especially through education, can enable them to protect themselves and become agents of change in their families and communities by sharing what they learn. This is particularly relevant in the context of the global effort to expand early warning systems under the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warning for All initiative. This year, severe floods, landslides, and other disasters during the southwest monsoon season have wreaked havoc in the northern Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. In Himachal Pradesh alone, according to government data, 427 people have died and 47 are still missing during the southwest monsoon season (June 20th to September 19th), with losses estimated at over ₹5,000 crore. Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu, Mandi, Kangra, and Kinnaur districts were particularly affected. To achieve the Sendai Framework’s goal of reducing global disaster risk and losses, this year’s IDDRR-2025 aims to focus on two key actions:
Increasing funding for disaster risk reduction in public budgets and international aid. Ensuring that all public development and private sector investments are risk-informed and resilient. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has also emphasized this topic, stating that “only 2% of development assistance and often less than 1% of government budgets are dedicated to disaster risk reduction. This is not just a gap—it is a miscalculation.” Protect children and youth through safe schools and education facilities: Children have the right to be safe in their schools, and this starts with ensuring that schools are disaster-resilient and part of disaster early warning systems. Empower children and youth to stay safe through age-appropriate education to understand and act on the risks they face. This includes building their preparedness to take prompt action in response to early warnings. Empowered children become agents of change for more resilient communities. Support and implement the Comprehensive School Safety Framework 2022-2023 developed by the Global Coalition for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in Education, co-chaired by UNESCO and UNICEF. The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) has been organizing a comprehensive public awareness program on disaster risk reduction every year since 2011. This year, the program is in its 15th edition, coinciding with the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. Accordingly, the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, through its District Disaster Management Authorities, is conducting a variety of disaster risk reduction activities across the state from October 1 to October 31, 2025. These activities include various safe building construction workshops, training programs, quizzes, and virtual meetings, safe building construction models, disaster awareness rallies, publicity through information, education, and communication materials, recognition of outstanding private contributions in the field of disaster management, best NGOs, and best school disaster management plans. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Information and Public Relations Department, street plays, rallies, marathons, and various dance and art platforms are being organized in all districts. The sole goal of the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority is to protect and educate the public against various types of disasters in the state, thereby helping to protect communities and vulnerable populations from the various types of disasters that plague this mountainous region. Young people are not merely passive victims. They must play an active role as leaders, collaborating and co-creating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation solutions.
Conclusion: International Disaster Risk Reduction Day sends us the message that preventing or mitigating disasters is possible only if we invest in building resilience. We must move beyond providing relief only after a disaster and adopt a sustainable and predictive approach. Only then can we move towards a safe, prosperous, and stable future.
