Amid ‘Surging’ Risk, Imperative to Fund Resilience, Secretary-General Says in International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction Message

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres' message for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, observed on 13 October:

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 per cent of development assistance and often less than 1 per cent 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.