New funding to boost disaster response
This week the UK’s International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP29 Presidency, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, announced that the Centre for Disaster Protection will receive additional support of £5 million from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The funds, which were announced at a meeting of the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership (REAP), will support the Centre’s work to change how the world prepares and pays for disasters, such as pandemics and extreme weather caused by climate change, helping to deliver the Centre’s five-year strategy.
Speaking at the meeting, Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “Between 1970 and 2019, 79% of disasters involved weather, climate and water-related hazards. 70% of resultant deaths occurred in the Least Developed Countries. Sadly, these events will only increase. But increasing also is our ability to forecast and forewarn: over half of humanitarian needs stem from ‘predictable’ events. But still only 1% of humanitarian finance is prearranged. This is not good enough.”
The funding forms part of a wider £48 million package of climate support announced by the Foreign Secretary earlier this year. It will support the Centre to deliver on its five-year strategy, bringing countries together with international development, humanitarian and private sector organisations to change how the world prepares, pays for and responds to disasters.
Daniel Clarke, Director of the Centre for Disaster Protection, said: “We must work together, across the world and at all levels, to prepare better for whatever is ahead, whether it’s a global pandemic, an earthquake or a flash flood. Crises must be planned for and money put in place in advance. In an emergency, time is not just money, it’s people’s lives.
“We are pleased that FCDO is supporting our work with partners to pave the way for a new, smarter crisis financing system that better protects the most vulnerable communities.”
The Centre will continue to work with countries and their partners to support them to own, plan and finance the risks they face with impartial technical assistance and capacity building; as well as collaborating with global partners to find solutions, build robust evidence, offer independent advice and advocate to change how disasters are managed by the international system.