12 / Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)
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Pillar 1 Risk Identification Authorities and residents of a village hit by a volcanic eruption in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, meet to discuss its reconstruction. Photo credit: Nugroho Nurdikiawan Sunjoyo/World Bank
In FY13, GFDRR provided 78 grants reaching 55 countries under this pillar. SubSaharan Africa received the highest number, 34, of GFDRR grants supporting risk identification activities. Latin America and the Caribbean had the second highest number, a trend consistent with previous years and the region’s focus on using risk information to drive public infrastructure investments. GFDRR’s goal under this pillar is to enable risk-sensitive decision making by providing people in vulnerable countries with access to better information about natural disaster risks, including those caused by the effects of climate change and rapid urbanization. For example, GFDRR grant and advisory support helps governments understand and identify their risk through maps that illustrate where a city or region is most vulnerable to one or more hazards. GFDRR also helps communities and governments create such information on their own, manage it, share it with others, and use it. Risk information can enable governments to improve and enforce land use planning and building codes, change laws, and set aside or raise the funds needed for disaster risk management efforts.