The World Bank Supports The Dominican Republic In Its Efforts To Improve Disaster Risk Response

• The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved a US$230Mn Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat-DDO) to support the Dominican Republic’s disaster risk management efforts. Cat-DDO can be quickly disbursed to respond to a natural disaster or health-related event.
• The programme seeks to improve the government’s capacity to strengthen disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, benefiting the Dominican population, especially the most vulnerable segments.
• The Government of the Dominican Republic has called for major reforms to improve disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, with an emphasis on improving preparedness and planning with timely information, as well as on limiting the fiscal and economic impact of disasters on the most vulnerable households. This new World Bank Cat DDO loan, following the one that closed last year, reveals the urgency of these reforms
• These reforms include the implementation of the first fiscal strategy for disaster risk management, strengthening of land use regulations to guarantee better planning, safer housing and construction, improved geospatial information (essential for risk assessment), and increased adoption of emergency mitigation and social protection measures.
• Of note, The Dominican Republic ranked 32 out of 181 countries on the Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft Global Risk Index 2021. This high exposure to disaster risk can result in significant economic impacts. The occurrence of extreme weather events underscores the need for urgent measures to strengthen the country’s resilience and adaptation in an inclusive manner

(Source: Dominican Today)