On 26 April 2022 the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) released its Global Assessment Report (GAR2022) which shows that 350 to 500 medium- to large-scale disasters have occurred every year over the past 20 years.

GAR2022 blames these disasters on a broken perception of risk based on “optimism, underestimation and invincibility,” which leads to policy, finance and development decisions that exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and put people in danger. The world needs to do more to incorporate disaster risk in how we live, build and invest, which is setting humanity on a spiral of self-destruction,” said Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, who presented the report at the UN headquarters in New York.

“We must turn our collective complacency to action. Together we can slow the rate of preventable disasters as we work to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for everyone, everywhere.”

For more information see UN News and the report main page.