Panama: Strategic framework for the financial management of disaster risk
The Strategic Framework was developed with the support of regional and international entities. The Ministry of Economy and Finance drafted this document with support from various organizations, including the Coordination Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC) at the regional level, along with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
The document incorporates a number of important lessons learned from international experience: (i) include disaster risks as part of an integrated framework of fiscal risk management; (ii) ensure that governments have access to immediate funds following a disaster; (iii) consider the creation of a national disaster fund; and (iv) reduce the government’s contingent liabilities against disasters associated with the impact of natural hazards by insuring critical public assets and promoting the private insurance market for catastrophic risks and agricultural insurance.