International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025; October 13th.

FORUM: ''Fund Resilience, Not Disasters.'' International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025. This theme aligns with major global initiatives in 2025, including: • The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which underscored the importance of financing for resilience. • The outcomes of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, which called for greater investment in disaster risk reduction. • The G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group, which under South Africa’s Presidency is prioritising DRR financing. Key initiatives include the development of G20 Voluntary High-Level Principles for Investing in DRR and a Ministerial on 13 October. • The focus on scaling up finance to address growing climate impacts at the 30th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 30) in Brazil in November. In the 10 years since the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, countries have made real progress in saving lives and strengthening resilience. Yet, as disaster impacts rise, so must our ambition. This means:

•  Increasing investment in disaster risk reduction and resilience. 
•  Ensuring all public and private sector investments are risk-informed.

 By funding prevention, we can save billions of dollars — and protect lives, livelihoods, and sustainable development. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #ResiliencePays, #IDDRR2025, #FundResilienceNotDisasters, #DisasterRiskReduction, #SendaiFramework.

EVENT: On October 13th. For the observance of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025; the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is calling on the world to #FundResilienceNotDisasters. Countries are facing more record-breaking disasters. This is driven by an increase in extreme weather events and by development decisions that are not risk-informed, which increases the exposure and vulnerability of people and economic assets to a range of hazards. Disasters are becoming significantly more expensive. While direct disaster costs have grown to approximately $202 billion annually, the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 estimates that the true cost, is 11 times higher at nearly $2.3 trillion. Developing countries bear the brunt of these impacts due to their smaller economies, even though developed countries suffer the most expensive disasters in absolute value. At the same time, investments in disaster risk reduction (DRR) have not kept pace with increasing disaster risks. This was one of the key findings from the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and a reason why many countries have been unable to reduce disaster impacts. In governments, often less than 1% of public budgets is allocated to DRR, which in most countries is only enough to meet 10 to 25% of the risk reduction needs. Moreover, international funding for DRR from developed countries has also been limited and, in some cases, decreasing, despite this funding being critical to protecting development progress and reducing humanitarian needs. According to UNDRR analysis, between 2019 and 2023, only 2% of Official Development Assistance projects listed DRR as an objective. Within the humanitarian sector, the amount of funding for disaster prevention and preparedness has gone down over the years – from an already low level of 3.6% between 2015 and 2018, to 3.3% between 2019 and 2023. Adding to the problem, most economic and investment plans remain blind to disaster risks. This is especially common in the private sector, which is responsible for about 75% of investments through the creation of economic assets. When these investment decisions, be they public or private, fail to account for climate and disaster risks, they not only put the investments at risk of loss from disasters, but could also lead to the creation of new disaster risks. We see this, for instance, through the expansion of urban development into hazard-prone areas or the construction of infrastructure that is not disaster-resilient. Closing this blind gap in the public sector requires aligning national economic plans with disaster risk reduction strategies and climate change adaptation plans so that development is risk-informed and resilient. For the private sector, the use of regulations, risk information, and the offering of financial incentives can encourage businesses to make risk-informed decisions. Register to participate!

Statement from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the occasion of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025; October 13th.

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.

António Guterres.

Statement of Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025. 

In the 10 years since the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, countries have made significant strides in building their resilience. The number of countries with national Disaster Risk Reduction strategies has doubled, as has the number of countries with reported early warning systems.

The result is that more lives are being saved, with disaster mortality cut by half over the past decade. We should all be proud of this progress.

However, we can't afford to be complacent. While fewer people are dying, more people than ever are being affected by disasters, and the economic cost of disasters is breaking new records.

The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 estimates that the true cost of disasters is 11 times higher than the direct economic costs, standing at an estimated $2.3 trillion a year.

To reverse these trends, countries must accelerate the full implementation of the Sendai Framework in the remaining five years. This requires prioritising financing for resilience.

That is why, for the 2025 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, we are calling on the world to "Fund Resilience, Not Disasters".

This means two distinct actions:First, increasing funding for disaster risk reduction and building resilience, especially within national budgets and international assistance. As humanitarian needs rise while global assistance funds decline, investing in disaster risk reduction becomes paramount to reducing future needs.
Second, we need to ensure that public and private sector investments are guided by an understanding of climate and disaster risks. Ensuring that all development is risk-informed will not only prevent the creation of new disaster risks, but will also help protect these investments from being lost to disasters.

Disasters are neither natural nor inevitable. And even in the face of a growing climate crisis, we can put a stop to spirals of growing disaster losses.

All that it takes is to put aside a little more funding for prevention and to assess investments against known risks. These two actions alone will save billions of dollars and help us protect lives, livelihoods, and sustainable development, now and into the future.

Thank you.

Every year, disasters cost the world an estimated $2.3 trillion — eleven times higher than direct economic losses. But we can change this.

Why invest in resilience?

 • Disasters are a growing threat to economic prosperity and sustainable development, with costs underestimated and unsustainable. • Disaster costs are pushing countries into spirals of increased debt, lower incomes, increased insurability, and repeated humanitarian crises. • Declining international assistance makes it even more critical to reduce disaster losses through disaster risk reduction investments. • Cutting funding for disaster risk reduction leads to more expensive disasters in the future, along with more humanitarian needs. • To reduce disaster costs, countries must increase funding for disaster risk reduction and ensure all development investments are risk-informed.

Benefits of resilience

 • Resilience pays dividends, but only when countries invest in it. 

- Every $1 invested in making infrastructure disaster-resilient in developing countries saves $4 in economic impacts (World Bank). 

- By investing in strengthening early warning systems, the Global Commission on Adaptation found that early warnings, issued within 24 hours of an impending hazard, can reduce the damage by around 30%. 

- Investments in anticipatory action and enhancing social safety nets can help communities bounce back swiftly after disasters. 

• Investing in resilience has benefits across the Humanitarian-Development nexus – it reduces disaster losses, protects development, and reduces humanitarian needs. 

How to fund resilience?

 • Increase funding for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in national budgets and international assistance (development and humanitarian). 

- Domestic funding for disaster risk reduction should be “ring-fenced” in national budgets and mainstreamed into sectoral budgets. Tools such as budget tagging and the development of national DRR financing strategies can help. 

- Countries with high vulnerability to disasters, such as the Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, countries in Africa, and countries that are fragile and conflict-affected, deserve increased international assistance. 

• Ensure development is risk-informed. 

- Development plans should be aligned with disaster risk reduction priorities. Otherwise, development investments that are risk-blind could lead to the creation of new disaster risks or exacerbate existing ones, thus increasing the odds of a disaster. 

• Encourage the private sector to be resilient. 

- Businesses should be incentivised to ensure their investments are riskinformed, as they are responsible for the majority of development in countries. 

- The financial sector can develop instruments for financing resilience, such as bonds and insurance, and support government efforts through public-private partnerships and blended finance. 

TAKE ACTION: Advancing DRR.

• National Governments: Policymakers and budget planners are expected to prioritize DRR funding in national budgets and ensure development plans are risk-informed. 

• Private Sector Leaders: Businesses, investors, and financial institutions are called to incorporate risk considerations into their investment decisions and support DRR financing through public-private partnerships. 

• International Donors and Humanitarian Agencies: Development and humanitarian actors are encouraged to scale up funding for DRR, particularly in vulnerable countries including Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States and conflict affected nations. 

• Civil Society and Academia: Advocates, researchers, and practitioners are expected to drive innovation, provide evidence for risk-informed investments, and hold stakeholders accountable for implementing DRR strategies. 

 Get involved and Learn more about the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR 2025).

Examples of Action.

 To illustrate the transformative potential of these calls to action, here are concrete examples: 

1. Increasing Domestic DRR Funding.

 India is currently dedicating around USD 28 billion to DRR financing and this amount is expected to rise to USD 42 billion under the 16th Finance Commission, which commences in 2026. This represents a 50% increase from the current budget. Philippines increased the 2025 budget of its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund to USD 368 million, which is a USD 9 million, or a 2.5%, increase from 2024. 

2. Scaling Up International DRR Assistance.

Australia has long been a supporter of building climate and disaster resilience, especially in the Pacific. In 2025-26, Australia will increase its Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget by around 2.75% from the 2024-25 levels to deliver AU$5.097 billion in assistance. 

3. Ensuring Risk-Informed Development.

Guatemala’s Vice President Karin Herrera recently proposed including the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) in Guatemala’s main economic and social decision-making bodies, noting that risk reduction must be a whole-ofgovernment responsibility. Bhutan, with the support of UNDRR and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, developed a National Plan for Infrastructure Resilience, and aligned it with its 13th Five-Year Plan, 2024-2029, which aims to transition Bhutan to a highincome country within the next decade. Rwanda’s Vision 2050 aims to transform the country into a high-income country by 2050 with a green and climate-resilient economy. To achieve this vision, it updated in 2022 its Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy, which, among its goals, is “Disaster Risk Reduction that reduces vulnerability to climate change impacts.” 

4. Promoting Resilient Private Sector Investments.

 Chile has mandatory seismic-resistant building codes that apply to all structures and are enforced through combination of stringent regulations, independent oversight, and legal frameworks to combat corruption. Chilean law also holds builders liable for construction deficiencies, giving them ample incentive to make sure their structures are quake-resistant. This has saved countless lives and reduced earthquake economic losses. Octopus Investments, a member of UNDRR’s Investors Advisory Board, is applying the Principles for Resilient Infrastructure to guide investment decisions of a fund focused on the renewable energy industry.

COMMUNICATION MATERIALS: Partners are encouraged to promote the theme through their social media platforms.  Get the DDRday Social media kit: ResiliencePays and the Social media assets available .