Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2013: Fourth Session – Latest financial analysis from GHA
In preparation for this week’s Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), GHA has updated their analysis which was previously published last year in Aid Investments in DRR: rhetoric to action.
Funding to disaster prevention and preparedness
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members are reported to have spent US$532 million on disaster prevention and preparedness in 2011, approximately 5% of the total spent on humanitarian assistance. This is the highest reported level since reporting started in 2004.
Methodology and limitations of the data
The current data sources available do not supply a readily-available and robust tool for analysing donor commitment to DRR. The coding structures are too weak and donor reporting is not consistent so tracking actual funding is difficult. A purpose code for one element of DRR has existed within the Creditor Reporting System (CRS) reporting database since 2004. It is only on the basis of this limited data that GHA are currently able to examine donor commitments to financing DRR.
In order to capture additional DRR within humanitarian programmes coded under different sectors (e.g. reconstruction, relief) GHA have used a forensic method to extract investments made in reducing risk from the project descriptions reported by donors. In some instances, this research has been particularly generous, since many projects may actually include DRR as an element, perhaps as something cutting across other sectors. We have, without further information, added the entirety of this to our data. GHA would encourage donors to report spending on DRR and prevention more comprehensively and to work with the OECD to improve existing coding systems put in place for DRR.
The GHA report 2013, due to be published in mid-July will provide further analysis of spending to DRR and prevention and preparedness.
About the Global Platform 2013
This event, held by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) in Geneva, Switzerland, marks a milestone towards the further development of disaster-resilient societies around the globe. The biennial forum gathers stakeholders from governments, international agencies, organisations, NGOs and civil society, academic and technical institutions, as well as the private sector. The goal is to improve how disaster risk reduction is implemented through better communication and coordination.
It will assess global progress in implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and speakers will share their experiences, plans and vision on disaster risk management. It seeks to continue the momentum from the 2011 event which focused on building durable efforts from all actors to take shared responsibility in reducing risks and reinforcing resilience in our communities. As Margareta Wahlstrom, the Special Representative to the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, states in her foreword message: “As we approach 2015, there is no room for anything short of full commitment by all to invest today for a safer tomorrow”.’
The 2013 Global Platform will give particular attention to three critical areas:
- Private sector investment in disaster risk management – an opportunity to create shared value for businesses and corporations as well as for society.
- The work of local communities, networks, and supporting policies in building resilience.
- Local and national governments’ perception on implementation of the HFA.
The GHA team is attending the forum and we will share its research on tracking DRR and prevention funding from its previous reports – ‘Aid investments in disaster risk reduction – rhetoric to action’ and ‘Disaster Risk Reduction: spending where it should count’. If you would like to meet with the team during this meeting please contact them by emailing laura.jump@devinit.org