The Economics of Early Response and Resilience: Summary of Findings.
Abstract
The impacts of natural disasters and complex emergencies have been increasing over recent decades, putting the humanitarian system under considerable pressure. The costs of humanitarian crises are also growing – not only do disasters and complex emergencies result in significant economic losses, but they also require mobilization of large amounts of humanitarian aid from the international community. According to a recent study on funding streams for emergency response, aid from governments reached US$12.4 billion in 2010, the highest figure on record. And yet, despite a rhetoric that has called for reform for the past decade, only 4.2% of official humanitarian aid and 0.7% of non-humanitarian development assistance was invested in disaster risk reduction between 2006 and 2010.
It is widely held that, broadly speaking, investment in early response and/or building the resilience of communities to cope with risk in disaster prone regions is more cost-effective than the ever-mounting humanitarian response. Yet little solid data exists to support this claim, and there is a clear need for a greater evidence base to support reform.
Citation
Anon. The Economics of Early Response and Resilience: Summary of Findings. (2013) 18 pp.
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