Enabling scaled-up risk reduction investments in the Philippines: Establishing a comprehensive disaster risk management program to better safeguard against hazards

This study analysed how to enable scaled-up risk reduction investments in the Philippines. The Philippines is one of the most natural hazard-prone countries in the world. Disasters in the country can quickly roll back hard-won economic and social development gains. To better safeguard the country against these disasters, it is critical to ramp up the institutional capacity and policies for a comprehensive disaster risk management program and to improve coordination between oversight and implementing agencies through upgraded legislation with disaster risk reduction measures while also building the capacity of government agencies by introducing resilience-building tools and resources.

The program demonstrated that a whole-of-government approach is critical for meaningful results in a multi-sectoral engagement on disaster risk management. An engaged, committed core team of counterparts across all relevant sectors within government, including central oversight agencies, were crucial in the achievement of the program’s desired outputs and outcomes.