Navigation path
Additional tools
Are there any climate change sceptics out there?
Friday, May 11th, 2012
If so I strongly recommend that you read here the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. That’s quite a mouthful, which is why the authors have shortened the title to SREX. If that reminds you of the popular name for Tyrannosaurus Rex – T-Rex – then perhaps it might also realise that if we don’t wake up to what’s going on around us we may end up like the dinosaurs – extinct! Read the full entry
Number of views: 998
Dear friends,
Today is International Women’s Day. As we celebrate our mothers and daughters, as we pay tribute to the important achievements of women scientists and artists, leaders and activists, this is also an occasion to reaffirm our resolve to help the billions of women who face tremendous risks and enjoy few opportunities.
I am spending this International Women’s Day with women in Bukavu, the Democratic Republic of Congo, who do face tremendous risks: poverty, violence, mass rapes, lacking development, poor healthcare and education. But they also an example of resilience and courage which can inspire us all. Read the full entry
Number of views: 3427
First reaction to the Brazzaville disaster
Sunday, March 4th, 2012
When I boarded a flight Sunday morning for Kinshasa I was receiving the first news of explosions rocking Brazzaville, the capital of Congo. By the time I arrived, the news had got a lot worse: reports that hundreds of people had died and many more were injured by what was being reported as an accident at a military munitions dump.
The explosions were so huge they even rocked areas of Kinshasa, separated by six kilometres of the Congo River from Brazzaville.
My deepest sympathies go out to all those killed, injured and affected by these terrible events. I am closely following how this develops and looking at how we can help as quickly and urgently as possible.
It’s late here and the full picture won’t be revealed until tomorrow but I am terribly concerned to hear that among the victims were people at a hospital and a church, where a mass was being celebrated.
It’s another terrible reminder that disasters, man-made and natural, can strike at any time and when least expected. My heart goes out to all those caught up in this dreadful disaster.
Number of views: 3324
I am in Berlin, and – as always when I am in Germany – I meet Albrecht Broemme, President of the German Federal Agency for Technical relief (THW). I admire his work, and enjoy our unscripted conversations. Read the full entry
Number of views: 1557
Welcome to a world of seven billion people
Sunday, October 30th, 2011
A newborn baby’s first cry has just marked a world record – the seven billionth person living on our planet was born.
Each new life is a new hope. And yet, all too many hopes get crushed by poverty and conflicts. Read the full entry
Number of views: 2527
From Myanmar with hope Part II – Aung San Suu Kyi
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Facing the worst often brings the best out of people, so through my work I meet outstanding individuals from all walks of life. But never before had I had a chance to meet a living legend, so I was excited to visit Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the symbol of democratic aspirations for millions in her country and all around the world. Read the full entry
Number of views: 3293
I have just been to a country so complicated that even its name is complex – Burma/Myanmar is what the EU calls it. For the sake of brevity and because we are in more informal context here, I will call it Myanmar, the name it has in the UN. Decades of political isolation – a breeding ground to poverty and fear – have placed this beautiful country among the least known in the world.
What we know for sure is that people in Myanmar suffer from both men and nature. Read the full entry
Number of views: 4029
Standing by a brave and generous friend
Friday, March 18th, 2011
I am at Brussels airport with our civil protection team for a last-minute briefing before they take off for Japan. The 14 Europeans in the team are en route to coordinate the European Union’s contribution to the massive relief efforts going on in the areas affected by a triple disaster: one of the strongest recorded earthquakes (so strong that it shifted the Earth’s axis), a powerful tsunami wave, and one of the Century’s most serious industrial accidents. Read the full entry
Number of views: 2931
