Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRM) aims to reduce the impact of disasters triggered by natural hazards in relation to human intervention in communities and the environment. It is a continuous process involving the identification of risks, the study and assessment of the root causes that generate them, the implementation of prevention and mitigation measures, emergency preparedness and post-disaster recovery. The process reduces damage and losses and is effective to the extent that protection and recovery phases are prioritised.

Originally, risk management was focused on addressing critical situations, i.e. strengthening the capacity to respond to the impacts of natural hazards. Today, the risk reduction paradigm is much broader with an emphasis on prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and recovery in order to eliminate and ameliorate the drivers of risk. In this regard, its evolution is related to the involvement of many more institutions and sectors, such as social protection, than those traditionally associated with immediate response during disaster crises.

Social protection systems are responsible for deploying policies and measures to sustain people's adequate standard of living, including income levels and access to social services. In contexts of disasters and crises, social protection plays an important role in promoting access to livelihoods and opportunities for recovery and growth for people at risk and vulnerable due to poverty and other social factors. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was explicitly stated that social protection is an indispensable public policy instrument to address economic, health and medical impacts, among others, and that its effectiveness is associated with multi-sectoral participation and coordination, for example, with risk management and civil protection systems.

Risk management with a social protection approach aims to strengthen the participation of organisations, institutions and actors from multiple sectors with responsibility in social policies, which together with risk management policies contribute to placing people at the centre. In the context of climate change, natural hazards, especially hydro-meteorological hazards, have a greater frequency and severity that implies continuing to develop adaptation measures, i.e., in the face of hazards that cannot be eliminated, social policies are aimed at reducing social vulnerabilities and strengthening social recovery.

In this regard, all those involved in multi-sectoral coordination need to develop disaster preparedness tools and expertise, in addition to guiding public policies and strategies for the social and economic recovery of the countries.

The Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), together with the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS), Expertise France and the Social Policy Cabinet of the Dominican Republic, are pleased to organise, within the framework of the project Strengthening resilience of health and social protection systems, the workshop on “Disaster risk management with a social protection approach” with the objective of promoting skills and building capacities in disaster risk management with a social protection approach. This session is aimed at decision-makers and technical staff of the social protection and risk management system in the Dominican Republic. The themes of the workshop are disaster assessment, registration of affected people, integration of risk management approaches and the importance of public-private partnerships.

1. Disaster assessment takes a multi-sectoral approach to its effects and impacts on economic and social activities in order to quantify losses and damage, which facilitates prioritisation of investments and resources needed for prevention and recovery.
2. The registration of affected persons is useful for the implementation and, in other cases, for the adaptation of social programmes to the needs of persons and population groups affected by hazardous events.
3. Integration of risk management approaches, considering international instruments related to climate change and disasters, which facilitates the orientation of public policies for disaster risk reduction to promote the implementation of economic and social recovery measures aimed at protecting the income of individuals and households, access to public social services and the evaluation of best practices.
4. Relevance of strengthening public-private partnerships in the creation of social protection tools.

• Format: face to face with a duration of 15 - 20 hours.
• Number of participants: Approximately 50 people.
• Dates: 16-17 April 2024
• Instructors: officials from the CISS, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Network of Social Studies for Disaster Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean (LA RED).

Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA)

• Gustavo Herrera
  Coordinator of Social Development
  gherrera@sela.org
• Sayed Duran
  Analyst of Relations
  sduran@sela.org

Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS)

• Verhonica Zamudio
  Researcher in Social Security
  verhonica.zamudio@ciss-bienestar.org
• Social Policy Cabinet
  Estefani Jerez, Public Policy Maker
  estefani.Jerez@gabsocial.gob.do
• Expertise France
  Escarlen Heredia, Specialist in Social Protection
  escarlen.heredia@expertisefrance.fr