World Reconstruction Conference 5 Joint Communique on Reconstructing for a Sustainable Future

 The Joint Communique of the 5th Edition of the World Reconstruction Conference affirms the commitment to (i) use recovery from the pandemic, disasters, conflicts, and other threats as an opportunity to reset the development pathway towards a greener and more resilient future, (ii) address the social and economic effects and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on “hard-won” development gains, (iii) re-think recovery governance models to better plan and manage recovery from complex and interconnected disaster-conflict events, and (iv) change behaviour and actions to build resilience through recovery. It calls for (i) a resilient recovery process that will build back better, puts agency in the hands of affected people, and implements predictable and pre-arranged financial, institutional and technical measures at all levels, (ii) the installation of health systems that incorporate sustainable risk management measures, resilient health infrastructure, and Universal Health Coverage, (iii) shock responsive universal social protection for all vulnerable groups to ensure a secure income and consumption to sustain communities during a crisis, (iv) a strong collaboration with civil society and communities, utilization of local knowledge in recovery of critical infrastructure and coherence with SDG 9, (v) the cooperation of all governments, partners and agencies to closely monitor recovery programmes to ensure that they are green and sustainable, and (vi) the promotion of women as recovery leaders and adopting gender-responsive recovery governance, strategies, and processes.