Description
On 12 December 2024, ADN successfully secured membership with the Santiago Network.
The ADN – Santiago Network will be led by the University of Leicester in collaboration with K2 Resilience and ICARS-Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.
The Steering Committee was formed on 9 January 2025, consisting of technical experts, Nibedita Ray-Bennett, Alex Skinner (K2 Resilience), Anil Gupta (Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee), Stephen Samuel (Ophirex, Inc.), Vishal Pathak (All India Disaster Mitigation Institute), Sanjay Srivastava (Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council), and future leaders Yunes Abou El Wafa, Eduardo Cardoso, Guilia Cristiana and Arkoneil Ghosh.
As a member ADN will play a crucial role in achieving the goals and functions of the Santiago network, with opportunities to contribute to and benefit from its activities related to loss and damage.
The Santiago network, co-hosted by UNDRR and UNOPS, plays a crucial role in enhancing the delivery of action and support to address climate change impacts in developing countries.
Statement of Motivation and Value Addition
Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) is a global-local membership network of 900+ experts, practitioners, and researchers in 94 countries. It is motivated by the desire to reduce avoidable disaster deaths.
ADN engages in cutting-edge, evidence-based research, celebrates the annual ‘International Day for Avoidable Deaths,’ and organises public engagement and capacity-building programmes. Our initiatives focus on preventing human fatalities from natural hazard disasters in low- and middle-income countries, supporting the Sendai Framework’s first two global targets, and empowering policymakers, practitioners, and vulnerable communities to make informed decisions that save lives.
Concerning Loss and Damage, we see significant overlap with the Santiago Network in our work to avert the loss of life from those disasters caused or worsened by climate change. ADN could do this more effectively and with a broader reach through membership of the Santiago Network.
Much of ADN’s expertise is rooted in local and regional knowledge, particularly from countries needing technical assistance, enhanced by global insights. This localised expertise is the key value ADN would bring to the Santiago Network. As outlined in the Santiago Network’s “Guidelines and Procedures for Responding to Requests for Technical Assistance” (Annex 1), ADN is especially well-positioned, having previously delivered technical assistance in areas such as emergency preparedness, comprehensive risk assessment and management, non-economic losses (like human life), and building resilience in communities, livelihoods, and ecosystems. Many ADN-associated projects also focus on supporting vulnerable groups, aligning with the Santiago Network’s priorities.
Membership in the Santiago Network would further amplify ADN’s effectiveness, allowing for better alignment between its expertise and the needs of those requesting technical assistance.
ADN- Santiago Network Members
There are 34 members of the ADN – Santiago Network consisting of 25 technical experts, seven future leaders and two support members.
Expert Members
There are 25 technical experts from 26 organisations representing 10 countries.
BANGLADESH
- Professor Syed Hamid
Mandate/Focus areas: health economics and development
Location(s): Institute for Health Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
2. Dr. Fatima Akter
Mandate/Focus areas: climate change, agriculture, and atmospheric sciences
Location(s): Department of Meteorology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
3. Professor Rasul Gulam
Mandate/Focus areas: non-economic loss and damage, climate change, developmental economics.
Location(s): Department of Economics, University of Business, Agriculture and Technology, Bangladesh
4. Mr. Kazi Mustafizur Rahman
Mandate/Focus areas: climate change finance analysis and sustainability
Location(s): Universal Research Care Ltd, Bangladesh
5. Mr. Maqbul Bhuiyan
Mandate/Focus areas: monitoring and evaluation, public health, implementation research
Location(s): Data Management Aid, Bangladesh (DMA), Bangladesh
INDIA
6. Mr. Mihir Bhatt/ Mr. Vishal Pathak
Mandate/Focus areas: disaster risk reduction, urban resilience, loss and damage, climate change
Location(s): All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India
7. Professor Vinod Sharma
Mandate/Focus areas: sustainable development, energy, and environmental policy
Location(s): Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of Sikkim, India
8. Rt. Colonel Professor Sanjay Srivastava
Mandate/Focus areas: Disaster management, climate change, climate adaptation and capacity building
Location(s): Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), India
9. Professor Anil Gupta
Mandate/Focus areas: Disaster management, loss and damage methodology, disaster deaths/loss
Location(s): Integrated Centre for Adaptation, Disaster Risk Resilience and Sustainability, IIT Roorkee, Greater Noida Campus, India
10. Dr. Stephen Samuel
Mandate/Focus areas: Clinical, snakebite mitigation
Location(s): Ophirex, Inc., India and USA
11. Mr. Arindam Ghosh
Mandate/Focus areas: life insurance, non-economic loss, financial and technological strategy
Location(s): Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance, India.
JAPAN
12. Professor Norio Okada
Mandate/Focus areas: integrated disaster risk management, sustainable development, governance
Location(s): Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) Society, Japan
13. Professor Rajib Shaw
Mandate/Focus areas: disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, non-economic loss and damage
Location(s): Keio University, Japan
14. Dr. Hideyuki Shiroshita
Mandate/Focus areas: disaster education, disaster risk reduction, disaster deaths/loss, capacity building
Location(s): Avoidable Deaths Network, Kansai University, Japan
UNITED KINGDOM
15. Professor Heiko Balzter
Mandate/Focus areas: Earth observation, climate monitoring, disaster risk reduction, disaster loss and damage
Location(s): Institute for Environmental Futures, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
16. Professor Ania Zalewska
Mandate/Focus areas: climate finance, innovation and risk analysis
Location(s): School of Finance and Accountancy, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
17. Professor Nibedita S. Ray-Bennett
Mandate/Focus areas: disaster deaths/loss, disaster risk governance, health and development, capacity building
Location(s): ADN, Institute for Environmental Futures, School of Management and Strategy, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
18. Dr. Aditya Ghosh
Mandate/Focus areas: non-economic loss and damage, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction
Location(s): School of Geology, Geography and Environment, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
19. Mr. Alex Skinner
Mandate/Focus areas: Crisis response, risk communication, climate adaptation, policy and governance
Location(s): K2 Resilience, United Kingdom
20. Dr. Vincent Erim Owan
Mandate/Focus areas: disaster risk reduction, disaster risk management, loss and damage
Location(s): Avoidable Deaths Network, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
CANADA
21. Dr. Ranjan Datta
Mandate/Focus areas: climate adaptation, non-economic loss and damage, Indigenous land-based knowledge
Location(s): Mount Royal University, Canada
NEW ZEALAND
22. Professor Michael Petterson
Mandate/Focus areas: climate adaptation, non-economic loss and damage, international development
Location(s): Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
BARBADOS
23. Mr. Krishna Clarke
Mandate/Focus areas: Risk analysis, crisis management and finance
Location(s): Caribbean Development Bank, Barbados
AUSTRIA
24. Rtd. Brigadier Gen. Professor Alois Hirschmugl
Mandate/Focus areas: disaster risk reduction, capacity building, strategy, governance, loss and damage
Location(s): DMAT Consultancy KG, Austria
NIGERIA
25. Ms. Patience Andrew
Mandate/Focus areas: monitoring and evaluation, development, capacity building, disaster education through art and poetry
Location(s): Custodian for African Literature, Nigeria
Future Leader Members
There are seven Future Leaders
26. Mr. Asad Tahir Jappa
Mandate/Focus areas: strategy, risk communication, disaster education through art and poetry, capacity building
Location(s): Sustainable Leadership Forum, UK and Pakistan
27. Ms. Giulia Cristiana
Mandate/Focus areas: risk communication, plastic deaths, human and environmental health
Location(s): Sustainable Leadership Forum, UK
28. Mr. Eduardo Cardoso
Mandate/Focus areas: economic loss, climate adaptation, agriculture, food security
Location(s): Safer Odisha – Securing Agriculture from Environmental Risk, India and Portugal
29. Mr. Yunes Abou El Wafa
Mandate/Focus areas: economic loss, climate adaptation, agriculture, food security
Location(s): Safer Odisha – Securing Agriculture from Environmental Risk, India and Germany
30. Ms. Barsha Kairy
Mandate/Focus areas: climate adaptation, non-economic loss and damage, Indigenous land-based knowledge
Location: University of Regina, Canada
31. Miss Prarthona Datta
Mandate/Focus areas: climate adaptation, Indigenous land-based knowledge, activism
Location: Calgary Central Memorial High School, Canada
32. Master Arkoneil Ghosh
Mandate/Focus areas: disaster risk reduction, disaster education through poetry and non-fiction, activism
Location: Neev Academy Bangalore, India
Support Members
33. Ms. Lauren MacLeod
Activity Coordinator
Location(s): Avoidable Deaths Network, University of Leicester and University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
34. Ms. Maryam Samaila Mohammed
Future Leader
Location(s): Avoidable Deaths Network, University of Leicester and World Health Organization, Switzerland