Odia IAS Officer PK Mishra Bags UN Award For Disaster Risk Reduction

New Delhi: The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has conferred Sasakawa Award-2019 for Disaster Risk Reduction on senior Odia IAS officer Dr Pramod Kumar Mishra, additional principal secretary to the Prime Minister.

The award was presented to him at the ongoing 6th Session of Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) 2019 at Geneva on Thursday.

A native of Sambalpur, Mishra received the award in recognition of his untiring efforts to improve the resilience of communities most vulnerable to disasters and his personal commitment to social inclusion as a critical principle to reduce inequality and poverty, enhancing the safety net of the socially and economically marginalized.

A high-level Indian delegation led by Mishra is attending the sixth session of GPDRR. The five-day session will conclude on May 17.

The United Nations Sasakawa Award is the most prestigious international award in the area of Disaster Risk Management. It was instituted more than 30 years ago and is jointly presented by the UNDRR and the Nippon Foundation. The award with a total grant of 50,000 dollars is distributed among the winners, which can be either organizations or individuals.

The theme of the 2019 Sasakawa award is “Building Inclusive and Resilient Societies”.