December 19, 2024
Dear readers and the ADN community,
Welcome to our sixth Newsletter for the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN). ADN is a global-local membership network of 900+ members representing 800+ organisations across 94 countries. ADN is dedicated to finding theoretical and practical solutions to reducing avoidable deaths from disasters.
As I reflect on 2024, it has been an eventful year for the ADN community.
We marked the first year of our global campaign ‘International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD)’ and the theme was ‘Do One Thing’. We have had a fantastic outcome. The campaign was celebrated across 13 countries with 50+ activities. The iconic Attenborough Tower at the University of Leicester’s main campus was lit up blue and green on 12 March at 6.30 pm to celebrate the campaign. In 2025, we aim to celebrate this campaign across 20 countries. If you would like to celebrate the global campaign, please contact us.
This Newsletter showcases a small vignette of newsworthy work conducted by the ADN Team, Regional Coordinators, Advisors, and Organisational Partners worldwide. We have provided photos to give you a sense of the place, time, and context wherever possible.
This newsletter provides an update on all the ADN projects—it will be a regular feature from now on.
I would like to thank Mr Mihir Bhatt, Director of the All-India Disaster Management Institute, for accepting my invitation to be interviewed for the section on ‘Perspectives on Avoidable Deaths.’
I would also like to thank all the authors and the ADN editorial team, Mr Lasith Dissanayake, Dr Hideyuki Shiroshita, Mr Alex Skinner, Mr Shahid Hoque, Ms Kelly Litsoung and Dr Denise Corsel for bringing this newsletter to fruition. Thanks are also due to Krishna Clarke for reviewing one of the articles for this newsletter. This is most likely my last letter, as I am looking for a successor to lead this newsletter in 2025. If you are interested, please get in touch with us.
I hope you will enjoy reading and viewing the photos in this Newsletter.
I wish you all a Happy New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett
Editor-In-Chief