Regional workshop in Cairo helps bridge the gap between risk knowledge and public finance decisions

Representatives from several Arab States, including disaster risk reduction (DRR) national focal points and officials from ministries of finance and planning, gathered in Cairo for a two-day capacity-building workshop on Financing Disaster Risk Reduction. The workshop aimed to equip participants with the tools to understand the financial consequences of disasters better, analyze their current financing landscape, and design strategies to invest more and more wisely in prevention.

Organised by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) in collaboration with the Government of Egypt, the event marks an important step in translating political commitments on DRR and climate resilience into concrete financing decisions and country plans.

Moving from "cost of response" to "investment in resilience"

Over two days, participants worked through a structured five-step approach to financing DRR, from understanding disaster impacts on public finances, to mapping existing financial instruments and identifying gaps, all the way to drafting elements of a national DRR financing strategy.

Sessions covered:

• Core DRR and DRR financing concepts to establish a common language between DRR practitioners and finance officials.
• Financial consequences of disasters, highlighting how shocks affect budgets, debt, and long-term development.
• Budget tagging and tracking, helping participants identify how much they currently invest in prevention and risk reduction across sectors.
• Matching needs with financing options, including innovative instruments and anticipatory financing to act before disasters strike.

A practical DRR financing game challenged country teams to make trade-offs under budget constraints, reinforcing the message that the cost of inaction is often far higher than the cost of investing in resilience.

Country experiences show momentum for DRR financing

Participants from Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco shared experiences on integrating disaster and climate risks into public finance systems and sector investments, including through budget reforms, contingency financing, and work on Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs).

These exchanges highlighted:

• The need to connect risk information with medium-term expenditure frameworks and national development plans.
• Opportunities to better align climate finance and DRR finance, especially in climate-sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, health, and infrastructure.
• The importance of engaging ministries of finance, planning, and sector ministries together with DRR national platforms to ensure coherent strategies.

By the end of the workshop, country teams had outlined priority actions to strengthen DRR financing, including steps to improve data, review existing instruments, and initiate dialogue with ministries of finance and development partners.

From training room to policy change

The workshop followed a step-by-step methodology:

1. Understanding the financial consequences of disasters
2. Analysing the existing financial landscape
3. Identifying and prioritising financing needs
4. Matching needs with financing instruments and options
5. Developing a DRR financing plan or strategy

This approach is designed to help countries move from ad-hoc, reactive spending after disasters to a risk-informed, proactive public finance system, aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement, and national development priorities.

The workshop also emphasised anticipatory financing mechanisms, which can trigger early action based on forecasts and risk information, helping to reduce losses and protect vulnerable households and communities before a shock fully materialises.

Strengthening DRR financing in the Arab region

The Cairo workshop contributes to a broader regional effort to scale up DRR and climate-resilient investment in the Arab States, by:

• Building a common regional understanding of DRR financing concepts, tools, and entry points.
• Supporting the development of country-led DRR financing strategies and integrating DRR into existing public finance reforms and INFF processes.
• Creating a community of practice among DRR focal points, finance officials, and partners who can continue exchanging knowledge and good practices.

The knowledge and country roadmaps emerging from this workshop will inform UNDRR's ongoing support to Arab States on DRR financing, climate resilience and risk-informed development, including contributions to upcoming regional and global DRR platforms and international discussions on financing for development