Baptist World Aid Australia will increase its focus and funding on preparing communities for the impact of disasters before they happen it was announced today.
The organisation, which says the move represents an “historic shift” in the way it responds to disaster relief around the globe, has launched a new campaign, Disaster Plus, under which it aims to raise $600,000 – money which will be used to fund the pro-active approach for the next 12 months.
John Hickey, chief executive of the BWAA, says while the organisation’s disaster response has been committed to relief and recovery efforts, “we have resolved that God would have us do whatever we can to be far more pro-active and to prepare communities before disaster strikes”.
“Investing the right money into disaster preparedness now saves huge dollars later,” he says, noting that the World Bank has calculated an investment of $1 in preparing vulnerable communities to cope when disaster strikes saves around $7 in emergency response costs.
~ www.baptistworldaidaustralia.org.au
