“JUST IN CASE-BE PREPARED”

The Joint Swiss - United Nations Programme “Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina” is implementing a campaign on the importance to understand disaster risks and on the steps towards prevention and preparedness for the purpose of raising citizen awareness about their role in strengthening communities through a faster and better response to a disaster.  

The “Just In Case-Be Prepared” campaign puts an emphasis on care for vulnerable and high risk population groups in BiH, such as persons with disabilities, children, women, including pregnant women, migrants and socially vulnerable groups, as well as on the importance of educating children and youth about disasters and strengthening local communities by preparing them for emergencies and response, with a focus on developing clear guidelines and making them accessible, and on improving coordination and management.

The campaign also spotlights strong effects of climate change on an increase in frequency, unpredictability and intensity of floods, droughts, heat waves and fires, which have a negative impact on livelihoods. 

The economic losses caused by disasters in BiH are enormous. Devastating floods affect over 100,000 people and cause a loss of around one billion BAM in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually, according to the World Bank report “Emergency Preparedness and Response Assessment: Bosnia and Herzegovina”. In order to avoid and/or reduce losses in the future, new approaches are required through transformation of the existing management structures and raising awareness by developing societies'  understanding of the risks and how they are managed.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a signatory country, is implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the aim of which is to strengthen disaster risk management at the national, regional and global levels. The Joint Programme, which is supported and funded by the Swiss Government and the United Nations (UN)  in the amount of BAM 7.1 million, is introducing systemic solutions which will ensure the achievement of the Sendai Framework’s key DRR priorities at the local level in cooperation with representatives of the following sectors: protection and rescue, education, social and child protection, health and agriculture, in accordance with the needs of the BiH citizens and the challenges they are facing.   

The following UN agencies are responsible for the implementation of the Joint Programme in BiH: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in partnership with local authorities and relevant implementing partners from the governmental and non-governmental sectors.