Introduction

Following a proposal by the Secretary-General, the General Assembly has decided to convene a High-level Plenary Meeting on accelerating progress towards the achievement of all Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Meeting, also referred to as "MDG Summit", will take place in New York on 20-22 September, 2010, and is expected to undertake a comprehensive review of successes, best practices and lessons learned, obstacles and gaps, challenges and opportunities.

With disaster risk increasing globally due to increasing vulnerability to natural hazards, it has become obvious that the MDGs will require a risk-sensitive approach to ensure their accelerated achievement and sustainability. It is vital that development strategies incorporate measures to strengthen community resilience through economic development, income diversification, drought and flood resistant cropping strategies, hazard resilient infrastructure (schools, hospitals, bridges, roads, etc.), early warning systems, as well as through protection of ecosystems.

The Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015) observes that "disaster risk reduction is a cross-cutting issue in the context of sustainable development and therefore an important element for the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration."

The 2010 MDG summit process, from now until September, provides a powerful vehicle to strengthen disaster risk reduction as an important cross-cutting policy area that will not only have a positive multiplier effect for the achievement of the MDGs, but is also a prerequisite to ensure their sustainability.