Category: Newsletter

December 22, 2025 Dear readers and the ADN community, Welcome to our seventh Newsletter for the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN). I am delighted to step into the role of Editor-in-Chief, following Professor Nibedita Ray-Bennett, who has done a fantastic job…

International Drowning Prevention Day Celebrations By Mr Arkoneil Ghosh Every year, drowning claims over 236,000 lives worldwide, making it one of the world’s most neglected causes of preventable death. This significant yet often overlooked danger disproportionately impacts children, the elderly,…

ADN Special Sessions Update By Ms Kelly Litsoung Between December 2024 and December 2025, the Avoidable Deaths Network held seven Special Sessions webinars, five side events at a major conference, and launched two magazines, engaging over 637 registered participants and…

Case Station for Avoidable Snakebite Deaths By Mr Adewumi Otonne and Prof. Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett The Case Station for Avoidable Snakebite Deaths (CaSA) was launched on September 19, 2024, in Odisha, India, as an outcome of two research projects: Exploring…

Case Station for Avoidable Tsunami Deaths By Dr Hideyuki Shiroshita For over a decade, Junior Champions at Hama Elementary School in Izumiotsu have been working to reduce tsunami-related deaths. According to tsunami hazard and damage estimates provided by the prefectural…

Case Station for Avoidable Heatwave Deaths By Mr Vishal Pathak and Prof. Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett The All-India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), in collaboration with the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN), launched the Ahmedabad Case Station for Avoidable Deaths (ACaSA) on March…

Future Leaders for Avoidable Deaths By Ms Lauren MacLeod The Future Leaders for Avoidable Deaths enterprise works to nurture Future Leaders in the field of Avoidable Deaths and to enhance their leadership and employability skills through expert mentoring and engaging…

Junior Champions for Avoidable Deaths By Mr Arkoneil Ghosh, Miss Anushka Konar, and Miss Prarthona Datta This year, ADN released two volumes of the ADN Junior Champion Magazine (ISSN 2759-0380), a testament to the growing strength of youth engagement and…

ADN Network on Loss and Damage By Ms Lauren MacLeod On December 12, 2024, ADN successfully obtained membership with the Santiago Network. As a member, ADN is expected to play an essential role in fulfilling the objectives and functions of…

Drowning Deaths By Mr Lasith Dissanayake Drowning is a significant and often overlooked public health issue, contributing to illness and death worldwide. In August 2023, funded by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Prof. Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett began the project…

Maternal Deaths By Prof. Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett, Dr Te Klangboonkrong, and Alex Skinner Building on years of research into reproductive health (RH) in climate-related disasters and a success in prototyping the Facility and Mobile RH Kits in Bangladesh, Prof Nibedita…

Global Campaign: International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths By Mr Abdullahi O. Umar The Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) marked two years of its global campaign, the International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD), and continued its mission to raise awareness…

ADN Country Chapter Updates By Mr Abdullahi O. Umar The Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) is a global-local membership organisation dedicated to reducing disaster-related fatalities. Its Country Chapters serve as local hubs, bringing together diverse sectors, networks, and at-risk groups to…

Updates on Sendai Targets A & B By Prof Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett On 12 December 2025, the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) held its 6th Annual General Meeting (AGM). Regional Coordinators from South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan), West Asia (Oman), South-Western…

Professor Anil Kumar Gupta’s Perspective on Avoidable Deaths Professor Anil Kumar Gupta’s Transcript 1. Do you think it is possible to achieve the Sendai Framework’s first two global targets? The first target is to reduce disaster mortality substantially by 2030,…

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…

Case Station for Avoidable Snakebite Deaths (CaSA) By Ms Lauren Macleod and Prof Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett The Case Station for Avoidable Snakebite Deaths (CaSA) was launched on 19 September 2024 in Odisha, India, as an outcome of two research projects:…

Tsunami Deaths Project By Dr Hideyuki Shiroshita New Hama’s Junior Champions have been influenced by their senior champions’ work—shooting films for tsunami disaster risk reduction. This year, 50 new Junior Champions, who are 5th-grade pupils of Hama Elementary School in…

Drowning in LMIC Settings By Mr Lasith Dissanayake Drowning is a serious and neglected public health threat, causing morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting…

Reproductive Health in Disasters Project By Prof Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett and Dr Te Klangboonkrong The project entitled “Prototyping Reproductive Health (RH) Kits for Disasters and Crises” is a continuation of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) funded evidence-based intervention project…

ADN Junior Champion Magazine By Arkoneil Ghosh and Anushka Konar The second issue of the ADN Junior Champion Magazine (ISSN 2759-0380) focuses on children and youth’s experiences of disasters in Bangladesh. This edition, published on 13 October to mark ‘International…

Global Campaign: International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths By Abdullahi O. Umar The Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) celebrated the first year of the global campaign, International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD) throughout March 2024. The global campaign, a significant…

Missing Persons Project By Dr Aditya Ghosh Disasters induced by climatic changes are producing social and economic stress of unprecedented complexity and scale across vulnerable regions. Apart from direct losses and damages resulting from these disasters, there are acute social…

ADN Country Chapter Updates By Abdullahi O. Umar ADN has two country chapters, and this article provides an update from Bangladesh and India. Bangladesh: Dr Fatima Akter hosts the ADN Bangladesh Chapter at the University of Dhaka. In 2024, the…

Mr Mihir Bhatt’s Perspective on Avoidable Deaths Mr Mihir Bhatt’s Interview Transcript Do you believe it is possible to achieve the Sendai Framework’s first two global targets?  The first target is to substantially reduce disaster mortality by 2030, and the…

Updates on Sendai Targets A & B: Snapshot of Sendai Framework Monitor 2014-2023 By Prof Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) monitors the seven global targets of the ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction…

29 December 2023 Dear readers and the ADN community, Welcome to our fifth Newsletter for the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN). ADN is a global membership network, dedicated to finding theoretical and practical solutions to reducing avoidable deaths from disasters. As I reflect…

Shine Light on an ADN’s Project: Avoidable Snakebite Deaths Dr Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett and Ms Lauren Macleod This year the Avoidable Deaths Network explored the feasibility and value of two novel networking models: the knowledge exchange network (KEN) model for…

Shine a Light on ADN’s Project: Junior Champions in Osaka Have Been Working on Avoiding Tsunami Deaths since 2013 By Hideyuki Shiroshita On the 12th of December 2023, Hama’s Junior Champions finished filming two films to reduce avoidable deaths from…

Mr Daniel Mendez’s Perspective on Avoidable Deaths Mr Daniel Mendez is a risk, crisis, and disaster manager with over 20 years of experience in the management of security and crisis situations at the national and local levels. Currently, Mr Mendez…

Professor A Q M Mahbub’s Perspective on Avoidable Deaths Professor Dr A Q M Mahbub is the Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Bangladesh and is a distinguished expert in disaster management. Professor Dr A Q…

Professor Norio Okada’s Perspective on Avoidable Deaths Professor Norio Okada is an Emiratus Professor at Kyoto University. He is also Advisor to Kwansei Gakuin University, Visiting Professor at Kumamoto University and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies…

Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Sendai Framework: Implications for Avoidable Deaths Network By Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett The year 2023 marks the midpoint of the implementation of the ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030’ agreement. A Midterm Review…

Dr Albrecht Beck’s Perspective on Avoidable Deaths Dr Albrecht Beck is Director of Prepared International; member of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC); and civil expert for Population Movements and Mass Evacuations for NATO. Prepared International is ADN’s…

Professor Alois Hirschmugl’s Perspective on Avoidable Deaths Professor Alois Hirschmugl is a Regular Officer, Trainer/Expert for international disaster management, and Technical Director of DMAT Consulting KG. DMAT is ADN’s Organisational Partner. Professor Alois Hirschmugl’s Interview Transcript Do you believe it…

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Ignite Stage 2019: Opinions of Key Stakeholders By: Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett, Krishna Clarke and Daniel Mendez Introduction The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 set seven global targets of which the first two…

Perspectives on Avoidable Deaths – Professor Michael Peterson Short interviews were conducted to gain multiple perspectives on avoidable deaths. Dr Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett interviewed two ADN’s Advisors Mr David Wales and Professor Michael Peterson in 2021 to gain multiple perspectives…

Perspectives on Avoidable Deaths – Mr David Wales Short interviews were conducted to gain multiple perspectives on avoidable deaths. Dr Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett interviewed two ADN’s Advisors Mr David Wales and Professor Michael Peterson in 2021 to gain multiple perspectives…

Disasters, Disaster Deaths and People Affected by Disasters in the Caribbean Region By: Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett and Julian Coetzee Introduction The Caribbean region is a collection of over 7000 islands (Caribbeanislands.com, 2021). The region is highly prone to natural hazards.…

Update on the United Nations Office on Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Effort to Reduce Deaths: Excerpts from the Biennial Report on the Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Africa By:…