Overview

By Giovanni Zambello, IFRC

“We estimate that for each dollar spent on disaster preparedness, an average of four dollars is saved on disaster response and recovery” says Alberto Monguzzi, Disaster Management Coordinator in the IFRC Europe Zone Office. “Disaster preparedness and risk reduction can equip communities with the tools to reduce the number of lives lost and to protect livelihoods”.

The world has experienced three consecutive years where annual economic losses have exceeded $100 billion due to an enormous increase in exposure of industrial assets to extreme disaster events.

The Global Overview collates information from a wide range of sources and displays this information in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises. Its primary objective is to rapidly inform humanitarian decision makers by presenting a summary of major humanitarian crises, both recent and protracted.

Prefacio del Director Ejecutivo

Acción Humanitaria para la Infancia 2013

A primera vista, Fatima aparentaba tener unos 4 o 5 meses. Pero, en realidad, acababa de cumplir su primer año de vida. Estaba entre los 126.000 niños con desnutrición aguda grave tratados en uno de los 425 centros nutricionales establecidos por el Ministerio de Salud de Chad en 2012 como parte de la expansión de la atención en todo el Sahel. Se llegó a cientos de miles de niños con la atención necesaria para salvar sus vidas. Tristemente, no se pudo llegar a otros muchos.

UNICEF has appealed for almost US$1.4 billion to meet the immediate, life-saving needs of children in 45 countries and regions gripped by conflict, natural disasters and other complex emergencies this year.

420,000 people in China’s southwest Guizhou province, 10,000 in India, 2 million in Bangladesh as well as vulnerable populations in Nepal and Kyrgyzstan were affected by cold temperatures

The Global Overview is a weekly update that provides a snapshot of current humanitarian priorities and recent events. Its primary objective is to rapidly inform humanitarian decision makers by presenting a summary of major humanitarian crises, both recent and protracted.

Global Temperatures in 2012

The last eleven years (2001–2011) were among the top warmest years on record, and the first ten months of 2012 indicate that this year will not be an exception. The year was characterized by unusual warmth across most of the globe’s land areas and a weak-tomoderate La Niña at the beginning of the year.