Global Platform 2025 Spotlight: A High-Impact Week for APDIM on Disaster Risk Reduction

The 8th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025), held from 2–6 June in Geneva, convened over 3,000 stakeholders from 164 countries to assess progress on the Sendai Framework and chart a path for greater resilience. The Platform’s theme — Everyday Counts: Act for Resilience Today — captured the urgency of collective, accelerated action in the face of intensifying risks.

During the Global Platform, APDIM held constructive bilateral meetings with heads of national disaster management authorities and representatives from different countries including Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs of India, Dr. Raditya Jati, Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of System and Strategy, Mr. Hisan Hassan, Chief Executive of Maldives’ National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, Chairman of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Mr. Rajabali Rahmonali, Chairman of the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (CoES) of Tajikistan, and Mr. Ali Hamza Pehlivan, President of Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of Türkiye.

Among the hazards discussed, Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) were highlighted in the Geneva Call for Disaster Risk Reduction, which underscored the need for integrated risk governance and international cooperation to address emerging and transboundary threats like SDS, extreme heat, and glacial lake outburst floods.

This recognition elevates the importance of the side-event, “Integrating Sand and Dust Storms Risk Reduction into Disaster Resilience Strategies”, held on 6 June and co-organized by APDIM and ESCWA, as co-chairs of the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms. The event focused on mainstreaming SDS risk into national and local DRR strategies, given the storms' wide-ranging impact on public health, ecosystems, agriculture, infrastructure, and economies — especially in SDS-prone regions. 

From left to right: Mr. Baasansuren Demberelynam (NEMA Mongolia), Ms. Sophie Gummy (WHO), Ms. Xenya Scanlon (UNCCD), Ms. Carolina Fuentes Castellanos (Santiago Network Secretariat), Ms. Letizia Rossano (APDIM), and Ms. Sara Basart (WMO).

The session began with opening remarks and a keynote address by Ms. Letizia Rossano, Director of APDIM, setting the tone for the critical importance of integrating SDS risk into global DRR and SDG agendas. A panel discussion followed, featuring representatives from key UN agencies — including WMO, WHO, and UNCCD — alongside Mr. Baasansuren Demberelynam, Director of Disaster Risk Management Department at NEMA, National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia, who discussed the multi-dimensional impacts of SDS and the need for coordinated, cross-sectoral action, an interactive segment.

APDIM team with Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, and his delegation.

APDIM team with Dr. Raditya Jati, Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of System and Strategy, and his delegation.

APDIM team with Mr. Hisan Hassan, Chief Executive of the Maldives’ National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and his delegation.

APDIM Director Letizia Rossano with Mr. Muhammad Idrees Mehsud, Member Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan and delegation.

APDIM Director Mr. Rajabali Rahmonali, Chairman of the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (CoES) of Tajikistan.

APDIM Director and Mr. Ali Hamza Pehlivan, President of the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of Türkiye.