Any intervention designed to support disaster prone communities must be informed by evidence-based analysis with emphasis on human security.

The observation was made on Tuesday by different stakeholders during a two-day workshop on human security.

The workshop was organised in line with the implementation of a two-year pilot project, dubbed "Strengthen Human Security by Enhancing Resilience to Natural Disasters and Climate related Threats in Ngororero District.”

The project in Ngororero will cost some $4.9 million (approx. Rwf3.9 billion) which will be provided by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security and other UN agencies.

Mehrnaz Mostafavi, the head of Human Security Unit at the UN headquarters, said UN agencies are committed to work with government to ensure people-centered, comprehensive, context-specific, prevention oriented, protection and empowerment relief.

This, Mostafavi said, would help address the current interconnected and complex challenges such as climate change and its links to other forms of insecurity. 

"Climatic fluctuations, environmental degradation and extreme weather patterns disrupt harvests, deplete fisheries, erode livelihoods and increase the spread of infectious diseases. Vulnerable groups are particularly at risk, not only from immediate impact of natural disasters, but also from knock–on risk factors, such as displacement and migration,” she said. 

She noted that, since 2008, an average of 26 million people have been displaced each year globally as a result of natural disasters.

According to Mostafavi, while the majority of climate-related deaths and economic losses occur in vulnerable regions, natural disasters place enormous strain on the social and economic systems of countries.

"Here in this country, human security challenges as a result of climate-induced hazards, such as floods and drought, have affected more than  two million people in the past two decades. Accordingly, the UN trust fund for human security is proud to support an ongoing programme in western Rwanda,” she noted.

Seraphine Mukantabana, the Minister for Disaster Management and Refuge Affairs, said the workshop on the human security will enable participants to enhance their perspectives and broaden understanding of disasters and climate risks.

Noting that disasters have proven to be a major obstacle to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), the minister said such incidents drag the country back into poverty and can at times erase major development gains achieved over the years.

"We have experienced this in Rwanda. It is very important that our development strategies and programmes – short-, medium- and long-term – are informed by evidence based analysis, guided by some well established approaches, such as the human security approach,” she said.

Between January and September this year, disasters claimed 166 lives in across the country, injured 136 others, destroyed 4,611 houses and damaged crops on 5,388 hectares of land, according to statistics from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs.

It total, the ministry says, the damages were valued at Rwf27 billion. Human security is a dynamic and practical policy framework for addressing widespread and cross-cutting threats facing governments and the people, according to the UN.

The application of human security calls for an assessment of human insecurities that is people-centered, comprehensive, context-specific and preventive. Lamin Manneh, the UN resident coordinator, said the UN is committed to keep working with the government to ensure that the project is extended to other parts of the country.

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