A/RES/55/163 Response and Recovery Mission undertaken by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization in all countries affected by hurricane Mitch, and reiterates the need to ensure adequate assessment of and follow-up to these approaches, with a view to further developing and applying them, as appropriate, in other natural disasters; 20. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with relevant bodies of the United Nations system, to prepare recommendations on how to improve the potential of the United Nations to mitigate natural disasters including, in particular, through the development of an inventory of the existing capacities at the national, regional and international levels; 21. Notes the submission by the Secretary-General of his note on enhancing the functioning and utilization of the Central Emergency Revolving Fund, 4 pursuant to the request contained in resolutions 54/95 of 8 December 1999 and 54/233 for concrete proposals for enhancing the functioning and utilization of the Fund and the invitation to consider more active use of the Fund for timely and adequate natural disaster response, and decides to consider the note comprehensively at its fifty-sixth session; 22. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to consider innovative mechanisms to improve the international response to natural disasters, inter alia, by addressing any geographical and sectoral imbalances in such a response where they exist, as well as more effective use of national emergency response agencies, taking into account their comparative advantages and specializations, as well as existing arrangements, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session under the item entitled “Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance”, with a view, inter alia, to contributing towards the comprehensive report on the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, to be submitted to the Assembly at that session under the item entitled “Environment and sustainable development”. 85th plenary meeting 14 December 2000 4 4 A/55/649.