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 Reducing disaster risks is an integral part of the fight against poverty. Sensible and cost effective risk reduction programs—such as early warning systems, strengthened building codes, and emergency preparedness strategies—are the best defense against future catastrophes.
The World Bank has been involved in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction for more than 25 years, with a trend toward increasing lending for risk reduction and mitigation, mainly by integrating risk reduction into investment programs. Natural disaster assistance accounted for 9.4 percent of total World Bank commitments between 1984 and 2005. This share has been increasing steadily over the years. In the last four fiscal years alone, the Bank has approved $9.2 billion for more than 215 disaster-related projects, including non-lending technical assistance. The Bank continues to invest in disaster risk reduction, including mitigation and disaster preparedness, as an integral component of poverty reduction and sector strategies. Bank policy for rapidly responding to crises and emergencies was revised in 2007 and the procedures streamlined, enabling a quicker response while integrating disaster risk reduction into project design. Under the revised rapid response policy, 16 projects have been approved, reflecting the Bank’s emphasis on integrating disaster risk reduction into development strategies in high-risk countries and across sectors. In this connection, the World Bank's Disaster Risk Management team aims to reduce human suffering and economic losses caused by natural and technological disasters. We do this by helping the World Bank provide a more strategic and rapid response to disasters and promoting the integration of disaster prevention and mitigation efforts into the range of development activities. Please send an email to the Disaster Risk Management team at drm@worldbank.org with questions you may have about its services and products that support World Bank clients, projects, and programs. Key publications
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