Our Impact

Changing how the world plans and pays for disasters takes time. Some shifts are visible: a payout triggered, a grant secured, a declaration signed. Others unfold over months or years, as governments build the knowledge and systems to act before the next shock arrives. The Centre contributes to both.

Red Cross and Red Crescent symbols on white flags against a clear blue sky.

The first insurance payout for a humanitarian fund

In September 2024, an insurance payout was triggered for the IFRC's Disaster Response Emergency Fund. It was the result of the first-ever indemnity policy sponsored by a humanitarian agency, developed with impartial technical advice from the Centre. The payout enabled National Societies to reach an additional 1.6 million people.

A woman in an orange sweater smiling and gesturing while talking at a meeting table with others.

Building disaster resilience across the Pacific

When an earthquake struck Vanuatu in December 2024, the country was ready. Following a Centre-supported regional workshop on disaster risk finance tools, Vanuatu had purchased an insurance policy and received a $1.2 million payout within weeks of the tremor.
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That kind of preparedness depends on more than individual policies. It requires institutions that can sustain long-term disaster risk financing across the region. Working with the UK Government Actuary’s Department, the Centre continues working with PCRIC, the Pacific's regional risk pool, to strengthen its finances and standing with the governments and donors it serves, helping build the foundations that Pacific countries rely on."

“Just sitting down and listening to the Centre team helped us speak confidently with finance ministers and prime ministers." Aholotu Palu, CEO, Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company

Blue mosque building with two ornate minarets and a dome under a clear sky in Banjul.

From diagnosis to USD 10 million

An independent assessment supported by the Centre gave The Gambia a clear picture of its exposure to floods and windstorms and a credible basis for requesting investment. When the government engaged with the Global Shield, that evidence enabled specific, evidence-backed requests to donors, resulting in a USD 10 million World Bank grant for flood-triggered social protection.

‍"It didn't just lay the groundwork for accessing Global Shield programmes — it gave us the insight and direction we needed to build real financial protection." Isatou Camara, Director of Climate Finance, Gambian Ministry of Finance

Pre-arranged financing on the G20 agenda

When Brazil assumed the G20 presidency in 2024, pre-arranged financing was absent from draft declarations on disaster risk reduction. Through sustained engagement with G20 members, the Centre helped change that. The final declaration was the first at the ministerial level to include language on pre-arranged finance. The shift carried into South Africa's 2025 presidency, where a new set of High-Level Principles included a dedicated principle on arranging finance before disaster strikes.

Group of diverse professionals in formal attire gathered around a table at a G20 meeting, one man holding up a laptop for discussion.

A bold global target

The High-Level Panel on Closing the Crisis Protection Gap, convened by the Centre, called for increasing the share of pre-arranged crisis finance from 2% to 20% by 2035. That ambition is now backed by more than 70 finance ministers and reflected at the UN Financing for Development conference in Seville, and a new Global Coalition launched by the UK and the Bridgetown Initiative.

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A Year In Review: Annual Report 2024-25

A Year in Review 2024–25 shows how the Centre for Disaster Protection is turning ideas into impact.

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A Year In Review: Annual Report 2023-24

A Year in Review is the Centre’s first published annual report. It details our progress and the challenges we’ve encountered, and showcases our impact.