International online conference to address water-related Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) under the COVID-19 pandemic

As the world continues to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, the threats of water-related disasters remain as imminent now as before COVID-19. Numerous people around the world have been affected and thousands of people have lost their lives due to water-related disasters, which are increasingly frequent. In light of the current pandemic, competition and complications among disaster risk reduction (DRR) emergency responses and the COVID-19 health care responses exacerbate the challenges and could magnify negative impacts in certain countries and cities.

In this Online Conference on Water-related Disasters under COVID-19, leaders, government officials, representatives of international/UN organizations as well as civil society organizations, and experts on disaster risk reduction, water and health will discuss effective ways to address water-related disaster risk reduction in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chaired by Dr Han Seung-soo, HELP Chair and Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, the line-up of keynote remarks and speeches include:

• Mr Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations (video message)
• Mr Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank
• Prof. Akihiko Tanaka, President of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)
• Mr Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): “Water, DRR, and Economics under COVID-19”
• H.E. Dr Danilo Türk, Former President of the Republic of Slovenia, Chair of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace and Lead Political Advisor of the Geneva Water Hub: “Water and Peace under COVID-19”

Time: Central Europe 8:30 am (CEST, UTC+2), Jakarta/Bangkok 1:30 pm (WIB/TST, UTC+7), Manila 2:30 pm (PST, UTC+8), Seoul/Tokyo 3:30 pm (KST/JST, UTC+9)