As the world faces the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged governments and donors to dramatically increase funding for disaster risk reduction.
In his message marking the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (13 October 2025), the UN Chief warned that disasters are “multiplying and amplifying” — devastating lives, livelihoods, and erasing decades of development gains in an instant. He highlighted that the global economy loses an estimated $2 trillion every year when indirect costs are considered.
Despite this staggering toll, Guterres noted that only 2% of development assistance and less than 1% of government budgets are currently dedicated to disaster risk reduction. “That’s not just a gap – it is a miscalculation,” he said, emphasizing that every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure in developing countries saves $4 when disasters strike.
This year’s theme underscores the urgent need to “fund resilience.” The Secretary-General called on both public and private sectors to integrate risk assessment into every decision and ensure that resilience is embedded in all development strategies.
“On this Day,” Guterres concluded, “let’s commit to meet surging risk with a surge in funds, and build a safer and more equitable future for all.”
