Chinyere Bassey
Lagos – The International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Friday urged government and workers’ organisations to adopt skills development, employment promotion and business continuity management as steps to protect people affected by disaster.
The ILO Director General, Guy Ryder in a statement said that natural disaster such as flood and landslides have threatened hundreds of millions of people in many countries this year.
According to Ryder, ILO encourages an employment-centred response to disasters in an approach which seeks to address immediate needs guided by a long-term vision of building the resilience of societies.
He said that the process would be done through risk management and mitigation strategies that integrate policies for decent work.
He said that in 2016, 445 million people were affected by catastrophic events linked to natural hazards worldwide.
”In the first six months of 2017, more than 80 million people were impacted mainly by floods, landslides and prolonged droughts in Asia, South America and Africa.
”While hurricanes devastated Caribbean islands and parts of the United States, and waves of earthquakes hit Mexico.
”The most vulnerable are disproportionately affected with disasters forcing 26 million people into poverty every year,” he said.
The ILO director general said that disaster risk management has become all the more critical as the number of extreme weather events doubled over the last 40 year, increasing exposure and vulnerability.
He said it was also essential to engage youth, who in crisis situations are at high risk of being deprived of education, training and job opportunities.
He said that the devastating impact of these extreme events on lives and livelihoods, economic assets and infrastructure highlights the importance of promoting a global culture of disaster risk reduction. (NAN)