How Kiribati is combining housing insurance and digital governance to protect against drought

This case study belongs to a compendium of good practices and success stories in disaster risk reduction shared during the 2025 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025). These stories reflect the real-world progress being made by governments, communities, and organizations around the world to reduce risk and build resilience.

The Republic of Kiribati is facing rising seas and intensifying drought cycles. In 2023, it launched a community-based parametric insurance scheme in partnership with UNCDF and UNDP, offering pre-agreed payouts triggered by rainfall shortfalls, considered a lifeline for farmers, fishers, and small businesses (UNCDF).

Insurance coverage is one important piece in resilience building because it helps provide rapid, predictable funding after shocks, allowing households and enterprises to recover faster, protect livelihoods, and avoid falling into long-term poverty. By transferring a portion of disaster risk to the financial sector, communities can focus on rebuilding and adapting rather than relying solely on slow, uncertain aid flows.

At the same time, Kiribati implemented a nationwide Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), digitizing disaster fund allocation and expenditure tracking to improve transparency and donor trust (ADB).

This dual approach, risk transfer through parametric insurance and fiscal control through digital systems,  has majorly updated the country’s ability to respond quickly and manage climate shocks more effectively. It reflects a broader strategy among Pacific Island nations to build anticipatory capacity with minimal bureaucracy and maximum efficiency.

Source: Shared at the Ministerial Roundtable for Financing by the Government of Kiribati