Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the (GFDRR)

Mission

GFDRR was established to help developing countries - particularly those identified as the most vulnerable natural disaster “hotspots” - enhance their capacity for disaster prevention, emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. It is a unique partnership of 36 countries and 7 international/regional organizations committed to help developing countries reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards, adapt to climate change and to support and strengthen the ISDR system.

Launched in September 2006, GFDRR responds to a call from the international community to accelerate the Hyogo Framework for Action, the global blueprint for disaster risk reduction efforts adopted by the United Nations.

GFDRR is managed by the World Bank on behalf of the participating donor partners and other partnering stakeholders. It offers a unique business model for advancing disaster risk reduction based on ex-ante support to high risk countries and ex-post assistance for accelerated recovery and risk reduction after a disaster. This partnership has been successful in raising the profile of disaster risk reduction for sustainable development.

More information: www.gfdrr.org

Disaster Reduction Goal

To mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in country development strategies to reduce vulnerabilities to natural hazards.

Policies and Programmes in DRR

GFDRR has three main business lines and various complementary initiatives to achieve its development objectives at the global, regional and country levels:
1. Track-I: Global and Regional Partnerships
2. Track-II: Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Development
3. Track-III: Standby Recovery Financing Facility (SRFF) for Accelerated Disaster Recovery

Four initiatives that complement the three tracks and Climate Change Adapation programs are:
1. South-South Cooperation Program for Disaster Risk Reduction
2. The Economics of Disaster Risk Reduction
3. The GFDRR Labs
4. Disaster Risk Financing & Insurance

Membership in Key Networks

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
International Recovery Platform

National Counterpart

National Governments
Intergovernmental/regional Organizations

Activities in Hyogo Framework 1
Making disaster risk reduction a policy priority, institutional strengthening

GFDRR is actively engaged in mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate adaptation (CCA) in national development strategies and lending operations. GFDRR’s promotion of the integration of DRR and climate adaptation in development efforts is supported by a comprehensive system that allows proactive policy dialogue on DRR with country teams while strategies and lending operations are formulated, and follow-up monitoring of process made over subsequent strategies.
Through Track I, GFDRR works to enhance global and regional advocacy to promote the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action in partnership with the United Nations. Through advocacy and continuous engagement with key regional organizations, the partnership has helped to elevate disaster risk management as a key priority for policy-makers, governments and practitioners, thereby building a demand for more targeted country DRM programs, particularly in high-risk, low- and middle-income countries.
Building national capacity is a key component of GFDRR interventions for mainstreaming DRR in GFDRR’s 31 focus countries. GFDRR’s investments for capacity building address the institutions in disaster-prone countries in a comprehensive, multi-sector fashion, spanning all government sectors and levels that share responsibility for reducing the vulnerability of communities to disasters.

Activities in Hyogo Framework 2
Risk assessment and early warning systems

GFDRR funded disaster and climate risk assessments are the foundation of decision-making processes for a wide variety of actors from the public to the private sector. GFDRR has established close partnership with technical agencies to strengthen risk assessment. Track II has supported development of national risk maps and/or platforms in Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, Senegal, Yemen, Colombia and the Caribbean.

Activities in Hyogo Framework 3
Education, information and public awareness

GFDRR’s investments for capacity building address the institutions in disaster-prone countries in a comprehensive, multi-sector fashion, spanning all government sectors and levels that share responsibility for reducing the vulnerability of communities to disasters. GFDRR supports development of global knowledge products with high policy impacts for disaster risk reduction such as the Handbook for Reconstruction after Natural Disasters, “Safer Homes, Stronger Communities” and The UN-World Bank report "Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective Prevention.The Global Assessment Report, produced by UNISDR, United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank with financial and technical support from GFDRR, has expanded the global understanding of natural disaster risks.
GFDRR is also engaging with International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in disaster risk management, both at an operational level with key Regional Development Banks, and at a global level, through the newly established IFIs Forum.

Activities in Hyogo Framework 4
Reducing underlying risk factors

Through its Disaster Risk Reduction Mainstreaming Program (Track II), GFDRR is funding over 120 disaster risk management and inter-related climate risk management programs in more than 50 disaster-prone low and middle-income countries with a portfolio of nearly US$ 90M. Track II provides ex-ante assistance to developing countries to mainstream and expand disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) activities.
GFDRR's Disaster risk financing and insurance (DRFI) solutions provide efficient means for countries to financially protect themselves from natural disasters as well as foster DRM efforts. DRFI strategies allow countries to increase their financial response capacity in the aftermath of disasters and to reduce the economic and fiscal burden of natural disasters by transferring excess losses to the private capital and insurance markets.GFDRR has co-financed 17 technical assistance (TA) projects or project components on disaster risk financing since its establishment in 2006. Thirty-three developing countries spanning all six WB regions have benefitted GFDRR-funded DRFI projects. Projects fall under three categories: Sovereign disaster risk financing (SDRF), property catastrophe risk insurance (PCRI), and agricultural insurance (AI).

Activities in Hyogo Framework 5
Preparedness for effective response

GFDRR’s Standby Recovery Financing Facility (Track III) provides rapid technical and financial assistance for sustainable disaster recovery. Australia, EC, Luxembourg, Italy, Norway and Sweden are the contributing donors of Track III with a cumulative pledge of USD 27 million.
Key highlights include:
1. Since its establishment in 2007, GFDRR has so far assisted over 38 countries in assessing medium and longer term disaster impacts and needs for sustainable post-disaster recovery.
2. GFDRR-supported Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNA) have succeeded in delivering a coordinated system of international assistance to disaster-affected countries.
3. GFDRR Track III has established partnership agreements with centers of global expertise to make global best practices in disaster recovery available to disaster-stricken countries.
4. GFDRR supported capacity building for PDNAs and recovery planning has enabled countries to institutionalize PDNAs in the national system.
5. GFDRR is constantly refining the knowledge and tools needed for measuring disaster impacts.

Other activities

The GFDRR has developed a Results Model which provides an innovative way forward and quantification methodology for Global DRM Results Measurement. The current GFDRR-specific model can be further refined and replicated into a more generic, pre-programmed “Global DRM Results Model”. The biggest value-addition of such a model would that it would be able to quantify DRM Mainstreaming Progress and Impacts across all countries, using multiple international standards such as the HFA and Climate Change Risk Management standards.
The GFDRR Results Model provides an innovative globally-replicable DRM results quantification model that: (a) combines qualitative information from multiple sources so as to give a ‘360 degree’ view on impact (b) simultaneously links the “ results-chain” with international developmental standards and benchmarks such as the HFA, climate change standards; (c) uses a ‘contribution/partnership based results measurement approach’ for multi-donor, multi-recipient developmental programs; and; (d) promotes end-user participation and complete procedural transparency.

Disaster Risk Reduction Focal Point(s)

Saroj Kumar Jha
Program Manager, GFDRR and
Team Leader, DRM Global Expert Team, The World Bank

Websites

www.gfdrr.org