The United Nations Role in World Wide Disasters Research Paper

The United Nations Role in World Wide Disasters - Research Paper Example The gradual technological improvements, though useful, have more than detached man from nature and doubled the vulnerability of the entire human population on the planet earth. The modern era disaster occurrences have only become more frequent and hazardous with partly irreparable consequences. The frequent reports by the United Nations showing a steady increase of disasters across the globe only serve to confirm the magnitude of suffering at hand (UN/ISDR, 2013a). Founded in 1945 after the catastrophic World War II as a replacement to the hitherto redundant League of Nations, The United Nations serves a fundamental purpose in ensuring that the humanitarian suffering caused by the natural as well as man-made disasters are not only prevented, but firmly brought under control when they occur. According to the UN reports, approximately 80 percent of the countries affected mostly by disasters are predominantly in the developing world (Alexander, 1991). Such areas rank low in terms of hum an development as indicative by their income per capita that ranges in the near survival levels. Disaster occurrences in such countries often leave behind a trail of high numbers of human casualties, sweeping away almost the entire property that suspends such livelihoods. The deadly tsunami that struck Asia in December 2004, for instance, left approximately 200,000 people dead, scores of hundreds missing and property worth millions of dollars in damages (UN/ISDR, 2006). Losses of such magnitude partly result from unsustainable development practices that do stand the tests of time (Mileti, et al., 1995). To be sure, proper land use planning is often non-existent. Even with the perennial environmental degradation that continues to bite hard into the daily livelihoods of the population, disaster preparedness is often relegated into the periphery (Aleskerov et al., 2005). Owing to the limited capacity to tackle major disasters, the United Nations roles out numerous initiatives and progr ams annually in a bid to ensure that efficient proactive planning approaches goes into helping those in vulnerable conditions. Disasters disrupt not only the livelihoods of those affected but also hinder national as well as international efforts in advancing development agendas aimed at eradicating poverty among the most vulnerable. The United Nations views disaster reduction strategies as an integral component of reducing world poverty and inculcating sustainable development practices. Through the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the United Nations works across the globe with ultimate goal of â€Å"enabling societies to become aware of the dangers posed by the possible natural hazards as well as those related technological advancements within their surroundings with the view of minimizing any possible human, economic and social damages† (UN/ISDR, 2013c). To meet this objective, the office of United Nations via numerous agencies under its operational management provides proactive financial support to international disaster risk reduction actors to facilitate early warning activities and mitigation measures as recommended by the Hyogo Framework (UN/ISDR,