key: cord-0906655-bn3872mq authors: Mannan, Sushmita; Haque, Dewan MohammadEnamul; Sarker, Netai ChandraDey title: A study on national DRR policy in alignment with the SFDRR: Identifying the scopes of improvement for Bangladesh date: 2021-10-05 journal: Prog Disaster Sci DOI: 10.1016/j.pdisas.2021.100206 sha: d2a1729e7a52b06a87df584dc9ce3014dc828347 doc_id: 906655 cord_uid: bn3872mq Sendai Framework sets four priority areas and 7 targets to meet in between 2015 and 2030 timeline. Of the seven Sendai Framework global targets, international attention has increasingly concentrated on the one with the most urgent deadline, target E. The target E stands for “substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020”. The reported status of the member states is not that satisfactory in the context of meeting the deadline. Moreover, the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak has slowed the progress of updating national DRR policy documents. This study has investigated the existing shortfalls in the foundational DRR policy instruments of Bangladesh and contributes in developing a framework of National DRR Strategy in line with the SFDRR guideline in order to meet the target E. In doing so, this study has critically reviewed the national DRR policies to find out the gaps in line with SFDRR considering the country context and also compared different aspects of national DRR strategy with a few developed and developing countries. In addition, the policy initiatives of Bangladesh Government tackling COVID-19 outbreak have been evaluated. This research is anchored with qualitative research focus. The method of the study is carried out by an extensive literature review and key informants' interview to get the perspective of relevant stakeholders. The world is facing disasters on everyday basis. Despite the fact that the entire world is facing different types of natural and anthropogenic disturbances, most of the victims are reported in the under developed and developing countries from Asia and the Pacific region (Ahmed & Biswas, 2012; UNESCAP, 2017; Lloyd-Jones, 2006) . The complex context of the countries obstructs their capacity to act towards the hazards (both foreseeable and unforeseeable) and react counter to the disasters. Hence, the region is continued to be the world's most disaster prone zone where disaster-induced deaths rose more than three-fold in the past decade (ADB, 2013; ESCAP, 2015) . Locating in the South Asia Region, Bangladesh is badly impacted by numerous disasters such as flood, cyclone, riverbank erosion, landslide, tornado, drought, Nor Wester, etc. The geological settings, geographical features and demographic profile compel Bangladesh to experience excessive physical and social vulnerability. As a result, the high-risk profile causes the country to rank 13 th out of 181 countries of the world, whereas rank 7 th in terms of impact level from the climate led disasters that took place between 2000 to 2019 (Behlert et al., 2020; Eckstein et al., 2021) . Bangladesh is regarded as a model of disaster management transforming from traditional relief and rehabilitation to a comprehensive disaster risk management system by following the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA Progress Review, 2015) . The country scored a higher than the average score in every category including early warning systems, risk assessment, DRR policy, and preparedness for effective response. The government of Bangladesh has promulgated the Disaster Management Act 2012 and Disaster Management Policy 2015. The formulated policy provides set of guideline and action needed for managing disaster through disaster risk reduction. Though the Hyogo Framework for Action creates a noteworthy change in our disaster management system, followed its targeted actions policy-makers have given their primary attention to the outcomes and suggestions of the hazard paradigm, almost ignoring the vulnerability paradigm (Gaillard & Mercer, 2013) . The knowledge gaps and lessons learned from the HFA help to direct the targets and actions of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) (2015) (2016) (2017) (2018) (2019) (2020) (2021) (2022) (2023) (2024) (2025) (2026) (2027) (2028) (2029) (2030) . Sendai Framework sets four priority areas and 7 targets to meet in between 2015 to 2030. Of the seven Sendai Framework global targets, international attention has increasingly concentrated on the one with the most urgent deadline, target E. The target stands for "substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020" (UN, 2015) . The reported status of the member states is not that satisfactory to meet the deadline for target E. Moreover, the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak has slowed the progress of updating national DRR policy documents. The pandemic has forced every nation to divert their concentration towards immediate health response. This study will try to investigate the existing shortfalls in the existing foundational DRR plan of Bangladesh and contribute in developing a framework of National DRR Strategy in line with the SFDRR guideline in order to meet the target E in time. In addition, this study will also try to evaluate the policy initiatives of Bangladesh tackling COVID-19 outbreak. In doing so, this research will look into the available sources of objective information and then carry out a comprehensive analysis to reach a conclusion. The result of the research will signify the existing foundational lacking in our policy content that may help the planners and policy makers to understand and overcome the expected implementation drawbacks. The future researchers can work explicitly on those identified gaps to address them in a more coherent manner. Moreover, the framework that will be designed focusing on the SFDRR requirements and the multi-sectoral context of the country, hope to assist in formulating a national and local DRR strategy and will provoke further research on this topic. Bangladesh has experienced numerous devastating as well as mild disasters among which the deadliest cyclone of 1970 took place right before the birth of the country. The impact of that disaster was so immense that in 1972 following the independence, two separate ministries were formed naming the Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation and the Ministry of food. In 1982 the ministries were merged, nonetheless they were further alienated and named as the Ministry of Relief in 1994. Therefore, the amalgamation and separation happened following 2004 and 2009. Ultimately, in the year of 2012 the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) has been formed as a distinct entity, which is not just obliged to respond in a disaster but also reduce community vulnerability in order to manage disaster risk (Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 2014). As we know that different systematic processes or approaches do exist to scrutinize policy documents through developing supportive frameworks. One of the most important priority areas of DRR policy is the DRR governance, in practice, which mostly discusses the actions of government during emergency response and recovery phase. (Haraguchi, 2019) highlighted how government can be prepared in different disaster phases, while focusing on the basic principles and necessity of business continuity plan in enhancing community resilience. However, during investigation of several countries policy implementation process (Skoufias, 2003) shed light on public intervention in planning and implementation process of DRR policy to ensure well-being at root level of community. The authors highlight on resilience building programs through adaptation of different targeting mechanisms grounding on administrative criteria, proxy means tests, or categorical variables. Therefore, the resilience building programs such as social safety net programs that mostly directed to vulnerable groups suggested to be followed by a person-specific transfer approach for execution. Disaster policy however remains contested on the ground of differing perceptions between scholar and different level stakeholder. Compared to research on stakeholder efforts in extreme events, the literature on the dissimilarities and imbalances between academic endeavor and practitioner-led interests are hardly explored by researchers (Skoufias, 2003) . Aside the tensions among disciplinary and political perspectives, in a developing country context, Cheema et al. (2016) identify several flaws in the organizational structure of disaster management discipline at the local level. The study uses a historical case study approach to review disaster management structures, policies and institutions at different policy scales (from local to national). Few notable studies have been noticed concentrating on the disaster management system of Bangladesh. In this respect, Reza et al. (2014) suggest a model strengthen preparedness measures by examining the disaster management scheme and development pace of the system with changing context. The institutional capacity of the existing disaster management regulatory framework also been assessed in other studies (Rezoane, 2016; Zafar, 2010) . While Bangladesh is known for its transition from a traditional DRM to a dynamic DRR approach, more studies need to be conducted on this transitional phase. A number of frameworks have been formulated throughout the time for managing disaster. Formulation of a new framework by substituting the former is nothing but a demand of time. For instance the global agreement on national action for disaster risk reduction (DRR) replaced the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 (UN, 2015 . However, considering present natural and manmade context of the world, SFDRR consider the target E to be accomplished in an urgent basis. At the opening of UN World Conference on DRR 2015, the practice of disaster risk reduction is addressed not only for reporting but also as a political decision-making support tool. To review the progress of the directed actions in every two years, the first conference of (UNDRR, 2019b) identifies the importance of ensuring that preparedness and recovery plans need to be risk-informed by 2020 as a key component of achieving the Sendai Framework target E. Moreover, it highlights a context and situation specific DRR strategy in which the targets and measures may vary with the environmental, physical, social, cultural and economic conditions. At the same time (UNCEB, 2013) recognizes the need to accelerate support to regional countries on key priorities before the deadline J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f (UNDRR, 2019b) . Though the number of reported countries has increased over the time, it seems still difficult to meet the target-E within the projected deadline. Reviewing the progress of the countries towards the national DRR strategy, there seems an enormous scope to work in this problem in the context of Bangladesh. Moreover, it is also evident in extant literature that majority of the studies focus on solely the governance mechanism of Bangladesh and there is no such research found that can help to signify the scopes for improvement in light of SFDRR. So this study decidedly taps this opportunity in order to anticipate the gap in this aspect and address a DRR supporting framework. Figure 1 provides a diagrammatic representation of the proposed conceptual framework. The framework exhibits linkage among the overlapping thematic areas of the SFDRR for a sustainable DRR strategy framework at the national level. The framework will help to identify sound practices and assess impediments in our policy content within the four priority areas of SF. instance, the regulation and direction for international assistance during or after a disaster caused a point of discourse in the earlier version. As being one of the most disaster-prone countries, the country frequently gets support from different international organizations through disaster preparedness and development programs, hence this fact demands an extra attention. Moreover, it has introduced the terminology "Zoonotic Disease" for the first time through integrating directives into the National Platform for DRR. It has also asked the DM committees at all levels to be responsible not only for relief and response, but also responsible to execute DRR activities. Following this particular policy tool also ensures coordination and accountability at all levels. Through the timeline it can be seen that the 'Cyclone Shelter Construction, Maintenance and Management Policy' was the first policy document leading a hazard specific issue (Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 2012), nonethless in Bangladesh cyclone shelters are constructed for multiple hazards and purposes. The guideline has described all necessary directives concerning shelter management, perhaps the role of local regulatory body could be given more emphasize. Beside local government, the role and participation of community people should be come out in a more focused and explicit manner. In 2012 the Disaster Management Act has been formulated as a principle legislative tool to direct the obliged function and accountability on relevant organizational body towards the overall DM system can be observed, which may consider as a basement for developing a further detailed guideline. Indeed, the implication of such directives was noticed in the time of cyclone Amphan and the long lasting flood that took place amid the pandemic in 2020. The widespread nature of the Coronavirus subjected to restrict the evacuation process of the events. Under such circumstance, the government had expanded the number of cyclone and flood shelter in order to maintain social distancing with a provision of health safety measures. The humanitarian assistance was provided following social distance. Moreover, the awareness raising campaign for exposed communities were also seen to be prioritized, since the shelters are mostly run under community supervision. Therefore, the government initiatives turn out successful in lessening both life loss and damage. The contingency plan named Bangladesh Emergency Response Preparedness Plan is created to focus on the most minuscule of details of an individual event (UNOCHA, 2014) . It helps guiding the practitioners to set a work plan during and instantly after an emergency. Here, the strategy delivers contingency plan for the three most prioritized hazards including earthquake, flood, and cyclone. Nevertheless, the plan could cover some other dominant hazards of the country such as landslide, fire hazard, industrial hazards, storm surge, etc. Indeed, this is a coherent guidebook to follow; as there is no doubt that it covers a good piece of inter-sectoral and inter-institutional strategies at the local level. Nonetheless, the effectual completion of a contingency plan depends on the proficiency Throughout this time the nation follows a whole society approach to fight the pandemic that work in many cases, but certainly expose the fragile parts of the system. The priority areas of NDMP (2021-2025) are highly influenced by the shortfalls came to light by COVID-19. Thus, the document incorporates health hazards at its highest priority that adds a new dimension, yet some essential facts remain overlooked. There always need a collaborative approach to combat a global crisis. The plan could incorporate humanitarian and collaboration models to keep the frontline actors in one string. Though the approach towards Covid-19 and seasonal disturbances are distinct in character, a connecting point need to identify for reinforcing capacity and building resilience. Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) and another is the Country Readiness Checklist by WHO. As COVID-19 is no different to a disaster (assimilated as Zoonotic Hazard in DRR discipline), even more complex in nature, it is reasonable to review it through the lens of DRR. The plan scrutinizes strategic interventions through ten technical-pillars dividing in two different groups, the epidemiological response group and the health service delivery group. The M&E framework is one of the most remarkable part of the plan having an intact budgetary scheme for each of the pillar. The last pillar of the plan stands for Research that claim an additional concern in our country context. Research depends on availability and access to reliable information, in fact amid this pandemic research was mostly depended on secondary data rather than on-ground observation. Thus, in such situation information accessibility is even more crucial than ever and this element should be given more attention in terms of research activities. The implication of DRR intervention can be observed among all the middle to long term national plans. The 7 th Five-Year Plan has considered environment and climate change as an important sector that primarily objectified to attain good governance by eliminating extreme poverty with full food security so that it can develop resiliency among people (General Economic Division, 2015) . The plan targeted a pro-poor Climate Change Management Strategy with a strong protocol for CCA financing. On the other hand, the longest national strategic plan, the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 addresses the aspects of disaster risk management intertwining with the DRR strategic plans; for instance such intersection can be noticed in developing early warning tool for cyclone and flood (General Economic Division, 2018) . Moreover, the formulation of DRR fund involving the private organizations for the root level community perceived as a notable scheme. In spite of taking various measures, as a developing country we have certain inability to execute an all-inclusive approach. At the end of the report it addresses the challenges and gaps in understanding and approach to deal calamities. However, nowadays most of the hazards occur in chain, therefore multi-hazard risk assessmentbased policy documents need to be formulated. Similarly, Bangladesh has made appreciable progress in the context of flood and cyclone early warning. However, multi-hazard early warning system development is still demanding further attention. In addition, systemic risk assessment and systemic impact scenario consideration is necessary to support government in priority setting and decision making that considers all risk and its systemic impact. As the nature of risk becomes increasingly systemic, so the way we think and act also needs to be more systemic in order to sustain the health and well-being of the people of our country. The issue of uncertainty in risk assessment also need to be addressed with state-of-the art research to facilitate effective decision-making. Research and innovation are prioritized in each national DRR policy documents especially in recent ones. In connection, the use of science and technology in DRR is increasing with passing times. However, the number of users is still low especially users at local level are not fully IT literate. Bangladesh has brought almost all major cities under land use planning in a strict manner. However, the recent urban development needs to be properly monitored to evaluate the performance of urban growth compared with the formulated land use plan. The importance of global and regional cooperation and collaboration has been emphasized in National DRR policy documents; however, the modality of enhancing this collaboration is not well defined. Disaster risk governance at all levels is important for an effective and efficient management of disaster risk. To ensure disaster risk governance, a well-coordinated institutional set up/ arrangement guided by legal framework is necessary. Moreover, to smoothly run the DRR activities, sufficient fund and continuous fund generation is also necessary. Bangladesh has a strong institutional arrangement, legal frameworks, civil society, full time cluster mechanism, very strong UN system and highly adaptive community. Still all the members of the concerned institutions do not understand the national DRR policy fully. National resilience program is working on leadership development so that each sector becomes enabling to the execution of risk informed decision-making. It is appreciable that national DRR policy documents have been periodically and systematically get updated. The fund availability is much increased to execute the DRR related activities compared to fifteen years earlier. The aspect of coordination seems to be everybody's concern, however, apparently observed no solution soon. Therefore, a significant strive is necessary to make coordination effective from top to local level. Moreover, the annual progress evaluation is also required to monitor the success of legal instruments. Voice of the affected communities need to be sensitized with a sophisticated manner at this stage. An exploration of effective, emergent-based approaches to systemic risk assessment, management and governance for sustainable and resilient societies and ecosystem is also necessary. Public and private investment in disaster risk prevention and reduction through structural and nonstructural measures are essential to enhance the economic, social, health, environmental and cultural resilience of nations. This investment can be drivers of innovation, growth and job creation. Governance 2 Investment in developing resilient system 3. Risk transfer and insurance mechanism, and lastly 4. Investment in physical and critical infrastructure. 5 business continuity plans. However, investment in increasing resilience addresses the point 5 too. There should also be sufficient fund available to operate all the disaster risk management activities. Well-equipped local actors both financially and technically can play a more active role in implementing DRR. So, further investment is required in enhancing the capacity of the local actors. SFDRR also advocates enhancing the resilience of national health systems including disaster risk management into primary, secondary and tertiary health care, especially at local levels. Health workers and health professionals should be sufficiently trained in order to act efficiently in the field of disaster medicine and supporting and training community health groups in health programmes. SFDRR also emphasized to promote and integrate disaster risk management approaches throughout the tourism industry as this sector is a key economic driver but badly affected by disaster impact. SFDRR also advocates promoting and supporting collaboration among relevant public and private stakeholders to enhance the resilience of business during disasters. Investment in livelihood generation is essential along with implementation of risk reduction measures. Investment is necessary to develop an effective mechanism to monitor and evaluate the progress and success of national DRR activities. Fortunately, IDF (infrastructure development fund) has been launched to assure own funding to construct massive infrastructure like Padma bridge, similar fund raising is also necessary at each local constitution to facilitate DRR activities. The steady growth of disaster risk and loss due to the increase of exposure combined with lesson learned from past disasters indicates the needs to further strengthen disaster preparedness for response and recovery at all levels. SFDRR has demonstrated that the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction phase, which needs to be well prepared ahead of disaster which will ensure "Build Back Better", making nations and communities resilient to disaster. In addition to priority actions, SFDRR also advocates for the role of stakeholders and promoting international coperation and global partnership. While states have the overall responsibility for reducing disaster risk, it is a shared responsibility between the Government and relevant stakeholders. Non-state stakeholders also play an important role in providing support to states through their commitment, goodwill, knowledge, experience and resources. Particiapation of diverse stakeholders including woman, children and youth, person with disbility, older persons, indigenous people, migrants, academia and scientists, business professionals and media groups has been particularly encouraged in the SFDRR. It is worthy to note that the commitments of stakeholders should be specific and time-bound in order to support the development of partnerships at local, national, regional and global levels and in the implementation of local and national disaster risk reduction strategies and plans (UN, 2015) . Furthermore, International, regional, subregional and transboundary cooperation is pivotal in supporting the efforts of states, their national and local authorities, as well as communities and businesses, to reduce disaster risk (UN, 2015) . To promote mutual learning and exchange of good practices and information through, inter alia, voluntary and self-initiated peer reviews among interested states is vital for strengthening mutual collaboration and partnership. The thematic analysis of the national DRR strategies according to the SFDRR presented in this study to identify a set of sound practices and opportunities that can be addressed in the DRR strategy of Bangladesh. The DRR strategies are developed in an coherent manner, though in some areas it needs to emphasize on few facts that have been already discussed above in this section. The graphical representation of the whole dicussion summed up below to get a better perspective. A brief analysis of the policy documents eventually leads to explore and suggest opportunities (Figure 4) for improvement in the DRR strategy of Bangladesh. Starting from the day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a pandemic and issued an international public health emergency, the entire world is trying it's best to withstand In the earlier days, the decision-making body had followed lenient protocols with low COVID cases and so consequently, the number began to surge within a few days. Therefore, the Prime Minister declared a nationwide general holiday for all public, private, autonomous offices and a ban on all types of public gatherings from March 26 to May 30 affirmed in different phases. However, this decision has put many people especially low-and middle-income group into financial constraints. In such a state of economic stagnation, the government puts forward remittance incentives, distinctive loan and different stimulus packages for low-income professionals, farmers, micro businessmen, and industries at different orientation in order to mitigate economic fallout from Covid-19. Moreover, maintaining social distance is not easy in an overpopulated country such as Bangladesh. On this note, imposing 'lockdown' (movement restrictions) as invariably followed by many governments In spite of the complex context and government's several insufficient preventive actions, people also witness many notable works in ensuring citizen's health security, social and financial wellbeing. This pandemic situation demands attention and cooperation among all stakeholders from international to regional, regional to national and national to sub-national level. To strengthen the authoritative body as an effective and reliable support structure within communities, the government has formed a committee of 42 members on national level having cabinet minister of MoHFA as the chairperson. The committee is devoted to settle necessary directives with supporting logistic or financial assistance and also provide required guidance to the local level committees in curbing COVID-19 outbreak. Besides the national committee, sub-committees have been formed at different administrative levels. The assigned functions of these committees are to implement directives at Beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, the scarcity of testing opportunities was one of the main topics of discussion. According to the IEDCR the total number of laboratories conducting Covid-19 test is 33, 17 among which located inside and other 16 outside the Dhaka division. The coverage of testing shows the statistic of 513 per million of country population which is still not enough for a highly populated country like us (World Health Organization, 2020). Nevertheless, we can notice steady increase in the number of testing coverage with the expansion of sample collection and testing facilities. In every district at least three vehicles (two for sample collection and one for carrying patients infected with COVID-19) made ready, especially in areas those are far from the testing sites. Government has selected private hospitals for testing with a certain fee, among which 17 hospitals or institutions are issuing COVID-19 free certificates to the Bangladeshi migrant workers and citizens. On this note, international travellers have to follow both local and global rules and restrictions. Guidance on COVID-19'. Moreover, the Bangladeshi emigrants quarantining under government supervision are given daily food and basic healthcare services for free of cost. Till now, mass gathering discouraged by ensuring minimum distancing during relief support. In addition, social distancing is maintained even in the office, market and shopping centres. The non-therapeutic intervention suggested by the healthcare workers is the only way to combat the virus until an effective antidote is discovered. Government has approved the Direct Procurement Method (DPM) for procuring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines as a matter of urgent state necessity. A committee has formed to create SOP for the long-term purchase of medical goods and J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f devices used to diagnose or treat COVID-19 such as diagnostic tests, masks, gowns, gloves, sterilizers, etc. As the elderly people are highly susceptible to infection and for some reason they don't want to go to the sample collection place for tasting, GoB issues an order to collect their (greater than 50 year old) sample from home. Government is working on placing public hospitals functional and well equipped for providing treatment to the COVID and the non-COVID patients simultaneously. Hospitals are directed to establish liquid oxygen tanks on an emergency basis and create a separate COVID unit for women expecting child. Private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres are proposed to keep operable for patients apart from COVID symptoms. Government directs legal action against irregularities and negligence in the service through immediate investigation and coordination with the deputy commissioner. With foreign help government organizes different training session since this is an unusual situation we are going through. An authorized body with knowledge and proficiency has conducted special training sessions on burial shroud of Coronavirus infected dead person. The salvation of humankind from the pandemic is wayward without providing proper protection to the frontline warriors, especially doctors, nurses, and people working in the health-care sectors. A Quick Response Team has been formed to provide food, medicine and other basic support to the COVID-19 affected frontline workers serving in different hospitals. Government announces money twice the basic salary as lump sum allowance to the frontline health workers devoting to serve COVID patients. Moreover, several public rest houses, hotels, and government residences near COVID dedicated hospitals are arranged for doctors, nurses, health workers, and other medical staffs. In the face of inadequate production or supply of PPE, the need for a set of strict terms and regulations from the highest level of the government was apprehended from the very initial phase of the pandemic. The Government issued a guideline for using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) rationally in order to curb the spread of the disease and provide healthcare services to both the Timely implementation of national DRR agendas will be challenging given the impact of ongoing pandemic. Anticipating further world-changing systemic events of this scale, national DRR policy and strategies need to be explored to identify what risk management and risk governance approaches, institutions and structures fit for purpose in a world living with COVID-19. Although the understanding the complexity of risk in post COVID-19 situation is challenging, COVID-19 also creates opportunities to make cities resilient as the city dwellers are the worst victim. Pandemic preparedness is more urgent in cities. Tackling inequality in cities is essential for fighting COVID-19. It's about shared responsibility. Risk cannot be divided into categories assigned solely to health authorities instead solutions are needed across sectors. The effects of COVID-19 can be felt beyond the economy and health even on mental health especially for the elderly person and in the context of enhanced domestic violence. Building resilient infrastructure and supply chain is crucial to save J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f lives and to avoid overburdening health systems. Lack of adequate infrastructure and services, unsafe housing, inadequate and poor health services can turn natural hazards into disaster. However, leaders need to understand and address this gap by taking best decision on COVID-19 recovery spending. Small and medium-sized enterprises are critical in reducing disaster risk. This is how governments can help them withstand shocks and become more sustainable. Smooth operation of supply-chain mechanism is necessary to maintain business continuity. Using digital technology, considering changing climate scenario, contingency planning and insurance coverage make the business more resilient. COVID-19 recovery could also be turned into green recovery. No one is safe until we are all safe. Human rights dimension needs to be perfectly addressed in the pandemic situation. Special emphasize need to be put on education and tourism sector during the pandemic. Education system in post COVID situation should follow its hybrid strategy i.e. conducting education and research both on campus and online. Tourism industry has also suffered a huge loss and therefore, new safer strategy is required to sustain in new normal situation. In addition, can climate preparedness mitigate emerging pandemics? -this question is a vital one to continue our life in a changing climate. System transformation including urban transformation should follow a resilient pathway in order get solution in the context of climate change. DRR is considered as one of the most important priority options with a strong intuitional basement that can take a variety of forms based on a country context. The concurrent global DRR framework, SFDRR, is acting as the focal guidance of the contemporary DRR strategy for most of the UN countries. Few noticeable good practices of India, Nepal, Philippine, Vietnam, Japan and Turkey are mentioned here. Nationwide collaboration and up-gradation of bilateral, regional, and international cooperation are explicitly mentioned in Nepal's strategic plan (Ministry of Home Affairs Nepal (MoHA), 2018) . Nepal has exceptionally exhibited concern to reveal disaster information publicly too. In Japan, there is a recognized Disaster Information Hub promotion team collaborated between national and local government to comprehend and assemble disaster databases through all the phases of disaster. Aside from the accustomed information management team, Japan has laid out special corps involving skilled and experienced responders to respond to large scale events. A special disaster information system called 'L-Alert' is expected to be used for sharing and disseminating information from the acquirer to residents (Japan, 2016) . The administrators of both Bangladesh and India have pointed out the incorporation of DRR discipline at university level curriculum (India, 2016), whereas Nepal and Japan incorporate the discipline from school to university level. The government of Japan J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f has developed a DRR inclusive education system followed by a set of regulations complied in "Guide to Make a Disaster Reduction Manual for Schools (Earthquake and Tsunami)," and "Development of a Disaster Reduction Education to Nurture Power to Live On". The forecasting schemes are revised and committed to being innovative for modelling the prioritized hazards. Though the mentioned initiatives are appreciable, all these three South-Asian countries are deferred to address the formulation and strengthening of institutional frameworks to carry on knowledge generation programs and corresponding implementation processes. Furthermore, funding for research and knowledge generation programs is another drawback for developing countries like us. Indian administration body allocates research grants to researchers and institutions concentrated on DRR (India, 2016) . 'HRVC assessment' has been addressed through cross-national DRR programs such as EPAC, AMCDRR, Delhi Declaration, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), etc. As India and Bangladesh have just prepared their draft plan, HRVC (Hazard Risk Vulnerability) assessment and monitoring mechanisms are not precisely elaborated in their plans. Indeed, in this case, Nepal and Japan are worth mentioning as an example to be followed by others. The strategic action of Nepal administrator towards coordination mechanism development is notable, as they lay down a strategic plan for several relevant areas with the incorporation of funding and monitoring approaches. The Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) and accountability mechanism of India are distinct compared to others. On the other hand, as Japan already has a wellestablished DRR mechanism, inter-institutional coordination and inter-regional relationship have been highlighted in its recent strategy. Furthermore, unlike the previous plan, NPDM has underlined to prepare a business continuity plan to ensure the regular flow of resources and functions during a disaster. Moreover, Japan has two formal documentation on business strategic planning such as Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) and Business Continuity Management (BCM) which are grounding on government authorized guidelines for ensuring business stability. The fourth focused theme of DRR governance determines the strategy for empowering the local administration system, as the lowest body of government ultimately executes the plans and provides services to build resilience in its respective vicinity. In the context of developing countries, the scope for the local authority is very limited and therefore, such drawbacks observed in the strategy most of the time. However, the adaptation capacity of local government in Japan complements its central governing system by incorporating a joint public-private expert team in the disaster-affected local authority. Moreover, if we look into their technical, financial and administrative capacity assessment initiatives, it will be noticed that except Japan, the other three countries hardly grounded on a specific DRM system that counts both budgetary funding and human resources. Nepal aims to invest in financial incentives and development of the marketing sector to strengthen the cornerstone and maintain the flow of goods and services in the time of rapid or slow-onset hazards. However, a noticeable initiative taken by Japan government is to invest in livelihood generating options for people living in disaster-prone areas. In spite of these distinctive strategies, some relatable initiatives have been noticed such as investment for retrofitting, emergency facilities, loan facilities at minimum interest, critical infrastructure, etc. that actions help us to act effectively in the state of emergency. The investment pattern in the DRR sector mostly follows a traditional vision that is centred on post-disaster actions covering response and recovery mechanisms. Correspondingly all the case studies emphasize to keep investing in physical and critical infrastructures such as emergency operation centre (EOC), multi-purpose shelters, embankments, fire stations, etc. Nonetheless, the Risk transfer and insurance schemes are contemporary risk financing approaches for catastrophic events like earthquake, cyclone, storm surge, flood, etc. The risk transfer and insurance mechanisms weren't widely practiced before in the south-Asian region. Especially, Nepal promotes insurance programs targeting its risk profile and emergency public structures like schools, hospitals, health posts, and critical infrastructures. In contrast, Bangladesh is in a preliminary stage to initiate such practices. Japan in this respect committed large insurance payments against damage from natural disasters which hold a policy of 'no loss and no profit'. Built back better is closely aligned with humanitarian-development nexus. Japan is certainly ahead on the process of strengthening the preparedness capacity of residents at all levels. The adapted approach of the country targets to grow a culture of DRR, as the topography and climatic circumstances have bound it to be gone through numerous unavoidable natural hazards. The government of Japan conducts emergency drill or simulation exercises on a regular basis and so, it emphasizes these exercises repeatedly in its current plan as well. In addition to the disaster training programs, the projected countries divulge to promote notable awareness generation programs where Nepal emphasizes on emergency communication system and stockpiling; India demonstrates its preparedness strategies as a whole, despite pointing out some distinctive initiatives like focusing on special courses on DRR and community based risk assessment mechanisms; Bangladesh targets to strengthen the capacity of its first responding agencies, especially brings technical and financial support to FSCD; and lastly Japan stresses the importance of positioning vulnerable groups (women and children) in the front line of awareness programs and promotes DRR urgency through schooling and digital media. In addition to the above good practices, a few DRR activities of Philippines, Vietnam and Turkey are also worth mentioning here. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) of Philippines (RoP, 2011) provides the legal basis for policies, plans and programs to deal with J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f disaster thematic areas. Legal agencies are also specifically assigned to properly address each thematic area: disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response and disaster rehabilitation and recovery. NDRRMP has three timeline i.e. short, medium and long-term implementation target. The goal, objective and traget outcomes are also defined for each timeline and according to each thematic area. Alignment of Philippines' National DRR policies with SFDRR are also highlighted in this policy documents. In addition, the progress evaluation of DRR policy documents is also appreciable. For example, the Disaster Risk Reduction report (UNDRR, 2019a) provides a snapshot of the latest DRR progress of the Philippines achieved under the four priorities of SF. It also highlights some of the key challenges surrounding the issue of creating coherence among the key global frameworks at the country level as well as local level. Coherence with SDG and Paris Agreement also being monitored (UNDRR, 2019a) . Similarly, Turkey has also prepared national progress report on the implementation of the Hyogo Framework For Action (2013-1015) to evaluate the nations' performance in implementing DRR and to figuring out the scope of further strengthening it (Disaster Management Authority, 2015). As earthquake is the most deadly and costly disaster for Turkey, The Earthquake Advisory Board (EAB), part of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD), resolved in 2010 to launch an "Earthquake Strategy Development Exercise" with the objective of identifying activities that must be undertaken to create the policies and establish priorities for protection from earthquakes and reduce their detrimental effects, suggest policies to be followed in the post-earthquake phase and earthquake-related research. As part of this decision the Working Commissions have been formed with the participation of EAB members as well as external experts (AFAD, 2012). Bangladesh may follow a similar comprehensive approach separately in managing Cyclone disaster. Regarding the COVID-19 transmission containment, the initiative of Turkey and Vietnam is globally appreciated. Preparedness for the pandemic in Turkey has been ongoing before the first case was detected on March 17, 2020. The Pandemic Influenza National Preparedness Plan was available after being updated in light of experiences gained during 2009 Influenza Pandemic. Accordingly, Pandemic Coordination Board and Operation Centers have been established on the national and provincial level. This was an adaptable plan to the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) (Demirbilek et al., 2020) . Positive outcomes seen in Vietnam could be attributable to the strict precautions taken by the government in the battle against COVID-19. Nevertheless, national level responses to the COVID-19 pandemic vary greatly among countries, depending on each's socio-economic background, health care capacity and political system (Tran et al., 2020) . With local transmission halted in April, the Government of Viet Nam began to ease physical distancing measures and to focus on socioeconomic recovery. J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Among the seven global targets of SFDRR, substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2030 act as the basis for conducting this study. This study has critically reviewed the national DRR policy instruments, tries to highlight the gaps and provide suggestions to addressing it. Nine out of seventeen sustainable development goals are closely linked with disaster risk reduction. However, global action to meet the SDGs is not advancing at the speed nor scale required to deliver the goals by 2030. This prompted UN Secretary-General to mark 2020 as the beginning of the 'Decade of Action' that calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to all the world's biggest challenges. Progress in meeting the global goals and outcomes of the Sendai Framework, the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement has been subjected to a further slow down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study also brought the national policy initiatives altogether and also highlighted suggestions for the life in new normal situations. Moreover, a few best practices of India, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and Turkey have also brought in the context of DRR. Based on the review study, concrete recommendations could be outlined in the following manner:  Most of the DRR policy is single hazard focused. Scenario planning addressing multi-hazards and associated risk is lacking. Especially Health policies did not take into account extended humanitarian crisis/extreme event scenarios. J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f  Recent revised SOD has indicated that the DM committees at all levels are not only responsible for preparedness and response but also responsible for the successful execution of DRR initiatives. National resilience program is working on leadership development so that each sector becomes enabling to the execution of risk informed planning. DDM is also started program to train up DM committees at all levels so that they understand their respective role and responsibilities fully. Focal point/person from each ministry should be trained up in this case to ensure continuity and these trained people should act as focal point even if they are transferred from their current organizations. Accountability and coordination need to be addressed seriously.  DRR is everybody's business. The GO/NGOs will not be able to address all issues. People's participation is also necessary in this context. Dengue outbreak in 2020 was effectively managed by social protest by the people of all groups. Social organizations and club played a vital role then. Similarly, all the citizens of Bangladesh don't seem to be fully aware of COVID-19 risk. Especially, the social disasters like drug addiction could be managed by initiating more social initiatives. Polarization in civil group is harming accountability. How is risk perception influenced by political ideology and/or political influences, especially in highly polarized political environments? -is also a major concern that needs further attention.  Bangladesh has a strong institutional arrangement, legal frameworks, civil society, full time cluster mechanism, very strong UN system and highly adaptive community. However, the capacity building of local authority is necessary. Local authority should be strengthened legally, technically and financially. In Philippines, the local government understand the DRR policies almost fully. Philippines has district level contingency plan which is still under process here in Bangladesh. Voice of the affected people reaches to the policy makers in two ways: localization working group and through CwC working group (BBC media action). There should be a much effective system to listen to the voice of the affected people.  In the context of National DRR fund development, a national steering committee could be formed to maintain bilateral/multilateral donor agency coordination targeting fund raising following a defined guideline. The fund might be raised from each DRR projects be it supported nationally or through development agencies.  Anticipatory forecast based financing mechanism should be developed for sustainable built back better J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f  Although Government's initiative to tackle first wave was effective, the long-term relaxed lockdown strategy without confirming proper & timely vaccination due to failure of collecting the required vaccines has put the Government's initiative in question especially during the 2 nd and 3 rd wave of COVID-19 outbreak. 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Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Urban Volunteer Management Guideline 1_751f_4bbb_b3d3_e3a392cb2bac/UCV%20Management%20Guideline%202019.pdf Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Disaster Resilient Housing Construction Guideline Disaster Risk Reduction National Strategic Plan of Action Post Disaster Deadbody Management Guideline National Disaster Management Policy Structure and Evolution of Ministry Cyclone Shelter Construction, Maintenance and Management Guideline COVID-19 related all Posting/Regularization/ GO/Letter/Office Orders Hyogo Framework for Action ( HFA ) Progress Monitoring and Review Through a Multi Stakeholder Engagement Process Management Approach to Disaster Scenario in Bangladesh: An overview National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan ( NDRRMP ) Economic crises and natural disasters: Coping strategies and policy implications Rapid Response to The Covid-19 Pandemic: Vietnam Government'S Experience and Preliminary Success Shared responsibility, global solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 New Urban Agenda. United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III Climate change Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Enhancing Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration Considerations for implementing and adjusting public health and social measures in the context of COVID-19: interim guidance COVID-19 diagnostic testing in the context of international travel. World Health Organization Risk assessment tool to inform mitigation measures for international travel in the context of COVID-19 This study is being carried out with the financial support of Dhaka Ahsania Mission under the ELNHA project. The ELNHA project is a five-year initiative started in 2016, implemented by Oxfam Novib and Oxfam Great Britain, with funding from the IKEA foundation. The primary purpose of the ELNHA project is to contribute to increasing the role of local and national humanitarian actors (LNHAs) in preparing for and responding to disasters. The objective of the ELNHA project is that local and national actors can deliver faster, more effective and quality assistance if their general influence and access to decision-making and coordination were increased through a range of localisation initiatives. Technology development and technology transfer. UN. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/1465back_paper.pdf The corresponding author has conceptualized the research problem. The first author has conducted the research as her Master's thesis. The 3 rd author has provided guidance in identifying the research gaps and suggesting further scope of development of national DRR strategy. The corresponding author and the first author have then further improved the study. All authors have contributed in writing the first and revised manuscript. Authors declare no conflicts of interest. This study is being carried out with the financial support of Dhaka Ahsania Mission under the ELNHA project. The ELNHA project is a five-year initiative started in 2016, implemented by Oxfam Novib and Oxfam Great Britain, with funding from the IKEA foundation. The primary purpose of the ELNHA project is to contribute to increasing the role of local and national humanitarian actors (LNHAs) in preparing for and responding to disasters. The objective of the ELNHA project is that local and national actors can deliver faster, more effective and quality assistance if their general influence and access to decision-making and coordination were increased through a range of localisation initiatives.J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f