The U.N.'s humanitarian chief says countries should reserve $3 billion a year in their foreign aid to help poorer nations prepare against natural disasters.John Holmes says that was the main recommendation from a four-day conference of more than 300 regional and national groups and governments in Geneva.
He says a global evaluation of schools and hospitals should be done by 2011. By 2015, nations prone to hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and landslides should make schools safer and teach about disasters in classrooms. Cities in disaster-prone areas should improve building and land use codes.
Holmes said Friday that $3 billion was "very modest," noting that the frequency and intensity of disasters will increase as a result of climate change.
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