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The world today faces an array of interconnected risks, including natural hazards, climate change, pandemics, and economic fluctuations, creating widespread uncertainty and concern. While disasters cannot always be predicted, their impacts can be mitigated through proactive measures such as financial preparedness, insurance, and the strengthening of critical infrastructure and systems.

ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº, in partnership with the , addresses these challenges by helping countries identify and assess disaster risks and supporting governments in embedding resilience into their development plans. By integrating climate adaptation and disaster risk considerations into broader development policies, countries can design and implement strategies that protect lives, safeguard livelihoods, and promote sustainable growth. This approach underscores the importance of shifting from reactive disaster response to proactive preparedness as a core aspect of development.

The foundation for this work is utilizing global expertise and local insights to develop tailored solutions. ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s plays a crucial role in these efforts, emphasizing the creation and sharing of knowledge to equip countries with best practices and innovative tools for building resilience. These efforts prioritize building financial resilience, advancing early warning systems, and strengthening critical infrastructure¡ªsuch as transport and health systems¡ªto reduce vulnerabilities. ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s initiatives ensure countries are better prepared for future shocks, preserving development progress and fostering long-term resilience.

Disaster risk management has become a core priority for the World Bank under the International Development Association¡¯s (IDA) 21st replenishment (). Recognizing the pivotal role of disaster preparedness in reducing vulnerabilities, IDA21 enhances support for low-income countries through targeted investments and capacity building. These efforts aim to protect lives, stabilize economies, and create a foundation for sustainable development.

Last Updated: Feb 08,2025

ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s approach to disaster risk management focuses on reducing vulnerabilities, enhancing preparedness, and embedding resilience across all aspects of development. This strategy aims to move away from reactive responses to disasters and toward proactive, forward-looking preparation planning. By integrating disaster risk considerations into development programs, countries can protect their development gains and better withstand future shocks. ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s initiatives align with key international frameworks such as  , , and  for Disaster Risk Reduction.

While identifying disaster risks is essential, the World Bank¡¯s strategy goes further by ensuring risk information translates into action. Through its partnership with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), countries receive support to design scalable strategies. Advances in technology, such as big data and predictive analytics, enhance risk understanding and response. Tools like the provide quick, data-driven damage assessments, helping countries prioritize recovery efforts. Investments in early warning systems and hydrometeorological services further empower communities to act before disasters strike.

Strengthening Financial Resilience

A key pillar of the World Bank¡¯s strategy is financial preparedness. By developing innovative financial instruments, such as catastrophe deferred drawdown options (), countries can access immediate liquidity in the aftermath of disasters. The Crisis Preparedness & Response Toolkit and also provide rapid access to critical financing when shocks occur. These tools enable countries to act quickly, reduce economic disruption, and support timely recovery efforts. By focusing on preparedness and integrating disaster risk management into broader development planning, the World Bank is equipping countries to confront an uncertain future with greater confidence.

Nature-based solutions () play a critical role in reducing disaster risks and enhancing resilience. Restoring ecosystems such as wetlands and mangroves mitigates hazards like flooding while providing co-benefits like biodiversity preservation and livelihood improvements. ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº actively encourages countries to incorporate NBS into urban planning and infrastructure to create sustainable, adaptive systems.

Strengthening the resilience of and facilities is also a priority. ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº supports retrofitting schools with seismic-resistant designs and includes risk-reduction education in curricula, safeguarding children¡¯s lives and ensuring uninterrupted learning during disasters. Similarly, investments in resilient healthcare infrastructure and systems aim to maintain essential health services during crises, protecting lives and supporting rapid recovery in affected communities.

Promoting Inclusion and Equity

ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s strategy recognizes that disasters do not affect all people equally. Vulnerable groups¡ªincluding women, people with disabilities, and marginalized communities¡ªare often hit hardest. Low-income countries, particularly those facing , experience heightened vulnerability to climate-related disasters. To address these disparities, the World Bank supports targeted interventions that prioritize equity and inclusion, as reflected in its new gender strategy. These efforts include strengthening social safety nets, enhancing community-based preparedness, and ensuring equitable access to support and recovery resources. By centering equity in its disaster risk management strategy, the World Bank aims to build a more just and resilient future for all.

ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº¡¯s disaster risk management strategy is a comprehensive, end-to-end approach that spans risk assessment, preparedness, financing, and recovery. It supports countries in embedding disaster risk considerations into broader development planning, ensuring that resilience becomes a fundamental aspect of sustainable development. By fostering equity, leveraging technology, promoting NBS, and scaling impact through partnerships, the World Bank aims to create a world where communities are better prepared, development gains are protected, and no one is left behind.

Last Updated: Feb 08,2025

ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº in FY24 committed $7.5 billion to finance projects that strengthen a country¡¯s ability to manage disasters.* These projects help governments and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and cyclones. They also support efforts to reduce disaster risks and improve decision-making through better information and governance systems.

*Note: ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº tracks the estimated dollar value of the financing it provides for disaster risk management through loans, credits and grants, called disaster risk management co-benefits (DRM CBs). This value is calculated annually, and the latest calculation includes operations approved in FY24.

Below are some examples of World Bank's support in various countries, in partnership with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).

AFRICA

• In Saint-Louis, Senegal, more than 433 permanent dwellings have been constructed that are now  providing safe, resilient homes for as many as 15,000 people who previously lived in areas vulnerable to coastal erosion or marine flooding. Based on information gathered from affected families, homes were designed according to universal access standards to ensure that the needs of people living with disabilities are met.
• In Malawi, the World Bank recently approved the Malawi First Growth and Resilience with  Development Policy Operation with a $57.6 million Cat DDO. The Cat DDO is a contingent line of credit that provides immediate liquidity in the aftermath of a disaster or emergency.  Just months after the Cat DDO was approved, it was activated after a March 2024 declaration of a state of  disaster by His Excellency President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera because of a food crisis. Activation of the Cat DDO ensured that the government had access to the resources it needed to respond without delay.
• In C?te d¡¯Ivoire, a partnership between C?te d¡¯Ivoire and IFC has been facilitated under which IFC which will work with C?te d¡¯Ivoire¡¯s Ministry of Sanitation to help design, structure, and competitively contract a public-private partnership to build and operate resilient solid waste management facilities. These facilities will potentially serve approximately 1,350,000 people in Abidjan, Cote d¡¯Ivoire¡¯s largest city, and two secondary cities.

EAST ASIA & PACIFIC

• In the Philippines, support has been provided toward the development of PlanSmart, a digital application that enables more rapid disaster recovery through the automated generation of recovery and reconstruction plans for various disaster scenarios based on risk and hazard data.  In conjunction with these efforts, more than 2,300 national and local officials have also been trained on risk-informed recovery planning. Thus far, 153 local governments in the Philippines have prepared recovery and reconstruction plans using PlanSmart.
• In Cambodia, technical assistance is enabling the country¡¯s National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) to use multi-purpose flood shelters as temporary healthcare facilities, filling gaps in healthcare service delivery during non-emergency times. The technical assistance has encompassed such key areas as maintenance costs, community trust to increase shelter uptake, and location selection criteria. Dialogue with NCDM is ongoing about how to use the shelters to strengthen healthcare service delivery in underserved areas.

EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA

• In Romania, fire stations in five localities (Mizil, Tecuci, Carei, Obor and Calarasi) have been reconstructed and upgraded to meet seismic and building codes, enabling more than 600 emergency personnel to provide fire services for more than 920,000 people. Technical assistance has also been provided to ensure that the upgraded emergency infrastructure is inclusive and sustainable, in addition to being resilient. The upgraded fire stations, for instance, have dormitories and sanitary facilities for women and men.
• In the Kyrgyz Republic, analytical work has informed the design and implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) under the Kyrgyz Republic Resilient Landscape Restoration Project, which is being supported by a $45 million financing commitment from the IDA. The analytical work, among others, has highlighted key considerations for planners with regard to the design and implementation of a range of potentially suitable NBS options for the Kyrgyz Republic. Such options including slope stabilization and riverbank and riverbed protection.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN

• In the Caribbean, technical assistance has enabled governments to improve disaster risk data by enhancing national spatial data infrastructure. An innovative machine learning model was developed to create a detailed inventory of roof types that can be used to monitor retrofitting progress and assess post-disaster damage. Thus far, 134,000 street-view images have been collected and analyzed, enabling the extraction of key building characteristics, such as wall materials and number of stories, thus creating a baseline for housing stock monitoring.
• In Honduras, technical assistance has been provided to the national government which has enabled the construction of 37 disaster- and climate-resilient schools in vulnerable communities, with 30 additional schools under construction. The technical assistance enabled the incorporation of universal access principles into the designs of the resilient schools. This includes the addition of ramps, railings, and accessible toilets, ensuring that schools are functional and inclusive for everyone, regardless of their physical ability.

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

• Within just three weeks of a devastating earthquake in Morocco in 2023,  a technical team estimated the direct physical damage at a fraction of the cost of traditional assessments through the Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) methodology.  The team¡¯s findings informed the design of Morocco¡¯s $11.8 billion resilient recovery and reconstruction plan for affected areas. The findings also informed Morocco¡¯s engagement with development partners including the World Bank, leading to the rapid mobilization of more than $300 million in pre-arranged disaster risk financing.
• In Yemen, technical teams have adapted traditional methodologies of damage and needs assessment to ensure that the analytical work fully accounts for the interaction between disasters and FCV dynamics. Such FCV dynamics include internal displacement and food insecurity. By fully accounting for interactions between disasters and FCV dynamics, the teams have unearthed findings that have informed recovery efforts. For example, the 2023 assessment highlighted the importance of prioritizing internally displaced persons in the recovery from Cyclone Tej.

SOUTH ASIA

• In India, analytical work has enabled a deeper understanding of the costs and benefits of a range of flood risk mitigation options in the city of Surat in Gujarat state. Local authorities are now proceeding with an update of a masterplan for resilient development along the Tapi river which straddles Surat. The work is informing development of the proposed Surat Resilience Enhancement Project, which is expected to receive $196 million in financing from the World Bank.
• In Bhutan, a longstanding partnership with the country on strengthening hydromet and early warning systems has paved the way for the development of the country¡¯s Agrometeorological Decision Support System which uses machine learning algorithms to generate specific crop advisories based on weather and climate data. Bhutan¡¯s Department of Agriculture has recently enhanced and operationalized the system and it now disseminates advisories to 11 gewogs, a group of villages, covering a total population of approximately 43,270 people.

Last Updated: Feb 10,2025

Building disaster resilience requires collective action. ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº, through the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), collaborates with governments, United Nations agencies, academia, civil society, and the private sector to mobilize expertise, resources, and innovative solutions. Some of the partnerships supported in 2024 include:

• International Agreements: GFDRR worked with partners such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) to advance disaster risk reduction, improve early warning systems, and integrate health resilience into disaster management. Collaborations with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women promoted gender-responsive and inclusive recovery strategies.
• Technical Agendas: Partnerships with agencies such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the African Development Bank supported advancements in nature-based solutions, emergency preparedness, Earth observation technology, and resilient housing.
• Research and Innovation: GFDRR partnered with institutions such as Purdue University and University College London to develop tools and insights, addressing global challenges such as heat resilience and infrastructure vulnerability.
• Civil Society: GFDRR engaged local organizations in community resilience projects, including nature-based solutions training in West Africa and citizen-led heat mapping campaigns in South Africa.
• Private Sector: Partnerships with entities such as Fathom and the Insurance Development Forum enabled better disaster risk data, financial protection strategies, and urban resilience financing.

These collaborations foster innovation, bridge knowledge gaps, and drive scalable solutions for disaster resilience worldwide.

Last Updated: Feb 08,2025