UN Secretary-General Message for International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

As the climate crisis accelerates, disasters are multiplying and amplifying – devastating lives and livelihoods, erasing decades of development gains in an instant.  The cost to the global economy is staggering: an estimated $2 trillion every year, when indirect costs are taken into account.

Yet funding to reduce repercussions remains dangerously low.  Just 2% of development assistance and often less than 1% of government budgets are dedicated to disaster risk reduction. That’s not just a gap – it is a miscalculation. Every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure in developing countries saves $4 when disasters strike.

The theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction reminds us of the imperative to fund resilience.  Governments and donors must scale-up investments in disaster risk reduction.  The public and private sectors must integrate risk into every decision – to reduce exposure and vulnerability to hazards. And resilience must be embedded into the foundations of development. 

On this Day, let’s commit to meet surging risk with a surge in funds, and build a safer and more equitable future for all.