International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development A/RES/74/115 change, and looking forward to continued progress in this regard, including to address identified gaps in coordinating and enabling partnerships, Welcoming the important role played by Member States, including developing countries, that have granted necessary and continued generous assistance to countries and peoples stricken by natural disasters, Recognizing the significant role played by national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, in disaster preparedness and risk reduction, disaster response, rehabilitation and development, Recognizing also the significant achievements of the Central Emergency Response Fund in facilitating life-saving assistance to crisis-affected people by providing timely funding, enabling humanitarian organizations and their implementing partners to act quickly when tragedy strikes and steer resources to crises that do not receive the attention that they need and deserve, emphasizing the need to broaden and diversify the income base of the Fund, and welcoming in this regard the call by the Secretary-General to achieve an annual funding level of 1 billion United States dollars, Emphasizing the need to address vulnerability and to integrate disaster risk reduction, including prevention, mitigation and preparedness, into all phases of natural disaster management, post-natural disaster recovery and development planning through close collaboration of all relevant actors and sectors, Reaffirming that strengthening resilience contributes to withstanding, adapting to and quickly recovering from disasters, Reaffirming also the importance of considering increasing investment in building the resilience of communities, which can be the first line of response, Recognizing the changing scope, scale and complexity of humanitarian crises, including natural disasters, and their adverse impact on efforts to achieve economic growth, sustainable development and internationally agreed development goals, in particular the Sustainable Development Goals, and noting the positive contribution that these efforts can make in strengthening the resilience and preparedness of populations to such disasters and reducing displacement risk in the context of disasters, Recognizing also the clear relationship between emergency response, rehabilitation and development, and reaffirming that, in order to ensure a smooth transition from relief to rehabilitation and development, emergency assistance must be provided in ways that will be supportive of short-term and medium-term recovery, leading to long-term development, and that certain emergency measures should be seen as a step towards sustainable development, Emphasizing, in this context, the important role of development organizations, international financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders in supporting national efforts to prepare for and mitigate the consequences of natural disasters, 1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General; 9 2. Expresses its deep concern at the increasing impact of natural disasters, resulting in massive losses of life and property worldwide, food insecurity, water and sanitation-related challenges, shelter and infrastructure losses, and, in some instances, displacement, in particular in vulnerable societies lacking adequate capacity to mitigate effectively the long-term negative social, economic and environmental consequences of natural disasters; __________________ 9 19-22032 A/74/319. 5/16