TO reduce risks during disasters and build resilience through personal safety, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs, has developed guidelines to mainstream gender  issues into disaster risk management.Jean Baptiste Nsengiyumva, Director of Research and Public Awareness in the ministry, said these guidelines are at a final stage and once finalised they will be implemented. "In a recently developed disaster management policy that is before cabinet for approval, gender perspective was taken into account,” Nsengiyumva said.The guidelines are in line with the conclusions of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. The Rio+20 Outcome Document calls for integrating a gender perspective into the design and implementation of all disaster reduction policy.The world will commemorate the International Day for Disaster Reduction today.  But the national event was marked yesterday in Rwamagana district.Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, in her message said women and girls must be seen as powerful agents of change.  Adding women must fully participate in planning and implementing disaster risk reduction measures. "This is why we are committed to empowering girls and women through education – to allow them to take charge of their lives and those of their families and communities,” she said.According to the UN, women are disproportionately affected by disasters, because of social roles, discrimination and poverty. Yet, their concerns are not sufficiently recognised. Nor do their role and capacities get the emphasis they require. The message indicates need to strike a new balance in risk reduction. They also believe that discrimination is a violation of human rights and an indication of a bad policy."In our disaster awareness messages, we encourage women initiatives in disaster management. Besides, majority first disaster responders’ team are girls and women. We are also planning, together with the Ministry of Gender, to integrate disaster risk management in all existing plans,” Nsengiyumva explained.For the UN, women and girl empowerment is one of the key paths towards more resilient societies. As the number and impact of disasters increase, girls and women must be more than visible and they must be actors and leaders for resilience.According to the International Monetary Fund, the number of people affected by natural disasters around the world is rising.  Over the past two years, 700 natural disasters were registered worldwide, affecting more than 450 million people.A new study by the IMF indicates damages in disasters have risen from an estimated $20 billion on average per year in the 1990s to about $100 billion per year during 2000–10. This upward trend is expected to continue as a result of the rising concentration of people living in areas more exposed to natural disasters, and climate change.