A starter guide to disaster risk finance

The number of people affected by crisis and in need of international assistance is rising. Yet the way the world prepares, responds to and pays for disaster is slow and inadequate. 

It is not until after a disaster strikes that the money is found to pay for it, which can take weeks, months or even years to arrive. By then, people's homes are destroyed, jobs are lost, schools are closed. Access to safe water and healthcare becomes limited and children get sick from diseases - and it's usually the poorest communities which get hit the hardest.

It shouldn't be this way.

We need faster and more effective ways to respond to protect lives. Disaster risk financing puts plan and money in place before a disaster happens. We want to stop disasters being treated like surprises by changing how the world prepares and pays for disasters and give greater protection for the most vulnerable.

There's never been a more urgent time to act.