Global partnership on disaster risk financing analytics: Results and achievements

This report discusses the emergence of disaster risk financing (DRF) in a changing world.  As governments try to recover and rebuild in the aftermath of disasters, they are confronted with staggering economic and financial costs because the immediate expenditures needed for reconstruction are compounded by a weakened economy, damaged infrastructure, destroyed businesses, reduced tax revenues, and a rise in poverty levels. These costs are particularly acute for low- and middle-income economies that tend to depend on ad hoc solutions such as emergency loans, retroactive budget realignments that divert limited financial resources from other areas of need, tax increases, or donor assistance to fund reconstruction and recovery efforts.

The international DRF community has shifted the way financial responses to disasters are designed, moving away from a focus on reactive post-disaster responses a more proactive approach focusing on prevention and preparedness. Initiatives such as the Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program (DRFIP), a partnership between the World Bank Group’s Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), are helping governments negotiate the transition from handling emergencies to planning ahead for risk.