US$10million will boost Vanuatu¡¯s resilience and preparedness for recovery fromfuture disasters
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2022 ¨C ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s Board of Executive Directors has approved US$10million (VUV1.18b) to support Vanuatu¡¯s ongoing efforts to strengthen climatechange adaptation, disaster risk reduction, health management and debttransparency.
Building on a reform program that beganin 2020 ¨C designed to support the implementation of strongerrisk mitigation and prevention actions across the country ¨C the Vanuatu Second DisasterRisk management Development Policy Grant with a Catastrophe Deferred DrawdownOption supports key aspects of Vanuatu¡¯s new DisasterRecovery and Resilience Act and its Physical Planning Act. Together thesewill help improve risk reduction, preparedness, response and recovery from futuredisasters, which often disproportionally impact vulnerable ni-Vanuatu communities.The operation will also strengthen the health sector response to disasters andclimate change, and improve debt transparency through the publishing ofquarterly debt reports online.
Vanuatu is particularly vulnerable totropical cyclones, floods, droughts, volcanic hazards, earthquakes andtsunamis, and modelling suggests that the country is facing an average of US$48million per year in risk to assets from earthquakes and cyclones alone. In 2020,Cyclone Harold caused US$617 million (61% of GDP) in economic impacts, onlyfive years after Cyclone Pam caused a similar level of economic damage, andjust before the country¡¯s tourism industry ¨C representing a significantpercentage of GDP ¨C was effectively halted due to pandemic-related borderclosures.
¡°We know that women and girls often bear thebrunt of disaster impacts in poorer households and that their needs can beoverlooked ¨C this support will help ensure no ni-Vanuatu are left behind in preparednessand post-disaster recovery efforts,¡± noted AnnetteLeith, World Bank Resident Representative for Solomon Islands & Vanuatu.¡°Working with the Vanuatu Government, this support will help save lives andbuild the resilience of Vanuatu¡¯s communities and economy in the years ahead.¡±
¡°With this World Bank support, we have madesubstantial progress in legislative reform, including improving our preparednessto recover from major disasters and ensuring that physical planning takeshazards into account,¡± said Hon Johnny KoanapoNies Rasou, Minister of Finance & Economic Management. ¡°Thiscomprehensive multi-hazard approach is helping us shift our efforts to longer-termpreparedness and recovery, which is essential given the increasing impacts ofclimate change in our region.¡±
Recognizing that the impacts of disasters arenot spread equally, even within households, the operation will also concretelyclose the gender gap in recovery efforts. The new Disaster Recovery andResilience Act will ensure that, following a disaster, data will becollected and categorized by gender to ensure essential needs are met and supportcan be delivered where it is needed the most.
The operation is funded through theInternational Development Association (IDA), the World Bank¡¯s fund for theworld¡¯s poorest countries. This financing reinforces the World Bank¡¯scommitment to increasing resilience in Vanuatu through the Vanuatu ClimateResilient Transport Project, which is providingcritical upgrades to 65 kilometers of the South Santo Road on Espiritu Santo,and the Vanuatu InfrastructureReconstruction and Improvement Project, whichis improving the climate resilience of schools and roads that were impacted by CyclonePam.
US$10million will boost Vanuatu¡¯s resilience and preparedness for recovery fromfuture disasters
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2022 ¨C ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s Board of Executive Directors has approved US$10million (VUV1.18b) to support Vanuatu¡¯s ongoing efforts to strengthen climatechange adaptation, disaster risk reduction, health management and debttransparency.
Building on a reform program that beganin 2020 ¨C designed to support the implementation of strongerrisk mitigation and prevention actions across the country ¨C the Vanuatu Second DisasterRisk management Development Policy Grant with a Catastrophe Deferred DrawdownOption supports key aspects of Vanuatu¡¯s new DisasterRecovery and Resilience Act and its Physical Planning Act. Together thesewill help improve risk reduction, preparedness, response and recovery from futuredisasters, which often disproportionally impact vulnerable ni-Vanuatu communities.The operation will also strengthen the health sector response to disasters andclimate change, and improve debt transparency through the publishing ofquarterly debt reports online.
Vanuatu is particularly vulnerable totropical cyclones, floods, droughts, volcanic hazards, earthquakes andtsunamis, and modelling suggests that the country is facing an average of US$48million per year in risk to assets from earthquakes and cyclones alone. In 2020,Cyclone Harold caused US$617 million (61% of GDP) in economic impacts, onlyfive years after Cyclone Pam caused a similar level of economic damage, andjust before the country¡¯s tourism industry ¨C representing a significantpercentage of GDP ¨C was effectively halted due to pandemic-related borderclosures.
¡°We know that women and girls often bear thebrunt of disaster impacts in poorer households and that their needs can beoverlooked ¨C this support will help ensure no ni-Vanuatu are left behind in preparednessand post-disaster recovery efforts,¡± noted AnnetteLeith, World Bank Resident Representative for Solomon Islands & Vanuatu.¡°Working with the Vanuatu Government, this support will help save lives andbuild the resilience of Vanuatu¡¯s communities and economy in the years ahead.¡±
¡°With this World Bank support, we have madesubstantial progress in legislative reform, including improving our preparednessto recover from major disasters and ensuring that physical planning takeshazards into account,¡± said Hon Johnny KoanapoNies Rasou, Minister of Finance & Economic Management. ¡°Thiscomprehensive multi-hazard approach is helping us shift our efforts to longer-termpreparedness and recovery, which is essential given the increasing impacts ofclimate change in our region.¡±
Recognizing that the impacts of disasters arenot spread equally, even within households, the operation will also concretelyclose the gender gap in recovery efforts. The new Disaster Recovery andResilience Act will ensure that, following a disaster, data will becollected and categorized by gender to ensure essential needs are met and supportcan be delivered where it is needed the most.
The operation is funded through theInternational Development Association (IDA), the World Bank¡¯s fund for theworld¡¯s poorest countries. This financing reinforces the World Bank¡¯scommitment to increasing resilience in Vanuatu through the Vanuatu ClimateResilient Transport Project, which is providingcritical upgrades to 65 kilometers of the South Santo Road on Espiritu Santo,and the Vanuatu InfrastructureReconstruction and Improvement Project, whichis improving the climate resilience of schools and roads that were impacted by CyclonePam.
