Hyogo Framework for Action

The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) was the global blueprint for disaster risk reduction efforts between 2005 and 2015. The HFA was adopted in 2005 at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, held in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Its goal was to substantially reduce disaster losses by 2015 - in lives, and in the social, economic, and environmental assets of communities and countries.

The HFA identified five priorities for action:

  • Ensure that disaster risk reduction (DRR) is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation
  • Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning
  • Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels
  • Reduce the underlying risk factors
  • Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels

The adoption and implementation of HFA marked a milestone in catalysing national and local DRR efforts and in strengthening international cooperation through the development of regional strategies, plans and policies. The HFA drove significant progress in developing institutions, policies, and legislation for disaster risk reduction. Stakeholders at all levels, strengthened their capacities for risk assessment and identification, disaster preparedness, response and early warning.

However, progress towards managing underlying disaster risk drivers remained limited in most countries. In general, institutional, legislative and policy frameworks did not sufficiently facilitate the integration of disaster risk considerations into development decisions. Consequently, hazard exposure in both higher and lower income countries increased faster than vulnerability decreased, new risks were being generated faster than existing risks were being reduced.

At the end of the HFA implementation, Member States recognized that efforts had not led to reduced physical losses and economic impacts. They concluded that the focus of national and international attention must shift from protecting social and economic development against external shocks, to transforming growth and development to manage risks, in a holistic manner. Read more in the Synthesis report on consultations on the post-2015 framework on disaster risk reduction (HFA2)

This conclusion formed the basis for the development of the Sendai Framework, the successor instrument to the HFA, which was adopted in 2015.

HFA Progress reports

Read more about the evolution of the global policy agenda for DRR in first chapter of the GAR 2019.

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