Over the past 20 years disasters have affected billions of people, caused USD$ trillions of damage and killed millions people. Disasters have affected people living in developing countries and, in particular, the most vulnerable communities within these countries.

Particularly in the context of increased urbanization, urban risk continues to rise. The vulnerability of cities to disasters is growing especially as poor people settle in high-risk urban areas. Unfortunately, the planning and development of cities has given little consideration to the consequences of hazards such as earthquakes, hydro-meteorological risks and others. The implication of this reality is the need for countries to focus on creating a safer world for urban dwellers and developing a series of innovative approaches to build resilience.

On the basis of these needs, UNITAR has developed the e-learning course Resilience Action Planning - Implementing the Sendai Framework at the local level.