Fund Resilience, Not Disasters: Rethinking Where the Money Goes

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025: Fund Resilience, Not Disasters https://iddrr.undrr.org/

Every year on October 13th, the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) reminds us of a powerful truth: disasters are not natural, they are the cost of unpreparedness. The 2025 theme, “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” urges the world to rethink its spending priorities and invest in what truly saves lives.

Across the world, billions of dollars are released only after devastation occurs, while prevention remains underfunded and overlooked. We continue to rebuild what could have been protected; financing recovery instead of resilience, and consequences instead of capacity.

Underinvestment in disaster risk reduction (DRR)—particularly in risk mitigation and preparedness—remains a global challenge despite the well-documented benefits of proactive action. Only 4.1 percent of total official development assistance for disasters between 2010 and 2019 was directed toward prevention and preparedness activities (UNDRR, International Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction – Target F, 2021).

This imbalance isn’t merely financial; it reflects a deeper mindset. Political and institutional systems tend to reward visible relief efforts including trucks of aid, reconstruction projects, and the optics of “action” after devastation. Preventive investments, in contrast, are less visible and yield results often measured in what didn’t happen; no floods, no loss, no tragedy.

For countries like Pakistan, where climate-induced disasters have become almost cyclical, this imbalance has devastating consequences. The country faces repeated and intensifying floods year after year. The 2022 floods affected over 33 million people, and in 2025, once again, millions have been displaced and livelihoods destroyed, not because the rains were unprecedented, but because resilience systems remain underfunded and underprioritized.

What Does “Funding Resilience” Really Mean?

Funding resilience is not limited to constructing embankments, flood protection walls, or rehabilitating damaged infrastructure; it means investing in people, systems, and institutions that can anticipate, absorb, and adapt to shocks.

Resilience funding must go beyond physical infrastructure to strengthen social and economic resilience, especially for women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized communities who often bear the brunt of disasters.

The United Nations deserves appreciation for taking crucial steps toward investing in awareness and capacity-building among both public and private sectors. Through its global advocacy, the UN continues to encourage countries, groups, and individuals advancing the Build Back Better approach, emphasizing value for money, inclusive construction, and mutual learning.

It also provides a valuable platform for those lagging behind to learn from others, reinforcing that constructing infrastructure alone is not enough; what we need is infrastructure that is inclusive, resilient, and ensures that no one is left behind.

Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), shared his perspective:

“I believe there are two key approaches that both national and international organizations can adopt. First, we must begin allocating dedicated budgets for investment in risk reduction through national budgets, private capital, and insurance where feasible, as well as by leveraging climate finance and Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Second, it is crucial to integrate risk reduction measures into all development projects. Whether building roads, constructing airports, or developing other infrastructure, we must consider both local wisdom and global best practices to ensure greater resilience.

Furthermore, investing in early warning systems, especially in rural areas, is essential. These systems should be designed using local knowledge to establish measures that are more appropriate and sustainable, incorporating nature-based solutions.”

Pakistan Case Study: Lessons from SFERP

From my own experience under the Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project (SFERP), I have seen how integrating gender, environmental, and social safeguards into project design changes outcomes. When women and marginalized groups participate in local decision-making, when social mobilization is prioritized, and when community health and safety are embedded in infrastructure work and created a job opportunity for local communities, resilience becomes real and lasting.

The expansion of emergency services at district and highway levels has also shown that Pakistan needs long-term, sustainable solutions to respond to emergencies swiftly and effectively.

For fragile and disaster-prone countries such as Pakistan, several key measures are essential.

• Strong, practical, and widely accepted early warning systems must be developed and institutionalized.

• All homes, public buildings, and infrastructure should be risk-resilient. Governments should establish technical review teams including engineers, DRR experts, social safeguards, and environmental management within relevant departments to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) only when safety and resilience standards are fully met and enforce accountability, if ignored.

• A nationwide campaign for disaster-resilient infrastructure should target masons, contractors, and laborers, helping them understand the measures required for safer construction, since most community-level construction work primarily involves masons and laborers.

In the agriculture sector, promoting climate-smart and resilient crops, supported by reliable weather forecasting tools, can help farmers make informed decisions and avoid losses.

• Most importantly, community engagement, particularly involving women, girls, youth, and marginalized groups, must be at the heart of every resilience design and decision.

Mr. Yousuf Muneer, Expert in Transport and Energy, shared his perspective on the intersection of infrastructure, resilience, and sustainability:

“We have to adopt a systemic approach to address these challenges, which means introducing policy shifts across all levels — from integrating resilience and sustainability into school and university curricula to advancing research and development in climate-resilient designs.

Design guidelines and specifications must be updated, incorporating robust risk assessment procedures before project approvals, followed by periodic audits to collect data necessary for asset management.

Investment in the capacity building of relevant public sector institutions is crucial, and lessons learned globally should be adapted to our local context to save time and resources.

Funding resilience is no longer optional — it is the only viable path forward for a cash-constrained economy like Pakistan, given the heavy losses sustained over the past two decades. As the saying goes, “a stitch in time saves nine.”

Investing Smartly, Acting Early

The shift from response to resilience requires reimagining how we plan, budget, and monitor development. Disaster risk reduction should not stand apart from climate adaptation or social protection; it must be integrated into the national and local development agenda.

This also means creating financial instruments that encourage proactive investments, such as:

• Resilience funds at provincial and community levels to ensure dedicated, timely financing for preparedness and mitigation.

• Gender-responsive budgeting to ensure inclusive access and equitable benefits for women, youth, and marginalized groups.

• Public-private partnerships (PPPs) that strengthen risk financing, insurance systems, and resilient infrastructure development.

• Contingency financing mechanisms and disaster risk insurance to enable governments to respond swiftly without diverting development funds.

• Climate and disaster risk-informed public investment frameworks (CDRIPs) to mainstream resilience in national planning and budgeting.

• Green bonds and resilience bonds to attract private capital toward sustainable and climate-resilient projects.

• Community-driven microfinance initiatives supporting local adaptation measures and livelihood diversification in disaster-prone areas.

• Performance-based financing where disbursements are linked to measurable resilience outcomes and risk reduction indicators.

Above all, resilience-building must be participatory. Communities are not passive beneficiaries; they are partners in planning, implementing, and monitoring the systems that protect their safety and livelihoods.

As we commemorate the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, we must ask ourselves: Are we truly investing in the future we want, or merely paying the price of the one we failed to protect?

Resilience isn’t built by chance; it’s built by choice. And that choice begins with where we put our funds.

Let’s ensure the next decade is not about counting losses but about counting lives and livelihoods preserved, because resilience, when funded right, saves far more than it costs.

By Sana Siddique, Social Safeguard & Resettlement Specialist, Sindh Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project (SFERP), Planning & Development Department, Government of Sindh, Pakistan.