Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction
Last week the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction brought together an amazing, devoted community of disaster risk reduction practitioners from all around the world.
Over the past four decades, since the early days of the Decade for Disaster Risk Reduction, this community has really stuck together. It’s a caring community: sensitive, solutions-oriented, increasingly inclusive.
It’s fantastic that we can come together every few years to take stock of what we’re achieving, where we are falling short, and what we could do more of.
Throughout the week they have shown us solutions from every corner of the world – from remote communities in Nepal to small island nations across the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean, to flood- or drought-prone regions across the globe.
There’s so much happening – and that is a real cause for optimism. It provides me with determination to do more.
After reflecting on all that I’ve learnt, the discussions I’ve had and listened to, and the immense collection of experience, perspectives and wisdom that were assembled, I want to highlight three things:
First: we are succeeding
Disaster mortality is down 50% decade on decade.
Over 130 countries have DRR strategies.
That’s a scale of progress we haven’t seen in any other area of development practice. We are succeeding – and that’s rare.
But success is fragile: Yes, fewer lives are lost – but the newer risks are shifting. Mortality risk from intensifying hazards like heatwaves, and low-frequency high-impact geophysical hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis continues to be a cause for concern.
We still have work to do on Target A – to reduce disaster mortality – and Target E – to put in place national and local DRR strategies.
Strategies exist; but are they backed by funding? By legislation? Are their effects felt at local level? We must ask these tough questions – to ourselves, our communities, and our governments – so that we can find and fill the gaps.
Success is not guaranteed to last. We need to consolidate our progress and remain alert. We have to do more.
Second: we need to get serious about financing
This is the next leap: we – as DRR practitioners, as governments, as the international community – still need serious resourcing for disaster risk reduction.
After 35 years, we still haven’t cracked this problem, and no country is immune. We need to ask, why?
The evidence shows the value of DRR investments, but we need to make it more robust and granular, and framed in ways that can persuade potential financiers.
In our quest for more resources, we must look at all sources: national budgets, private capital, insurance, climate finance, development aid. The investments benefit everyone, so the money must come from everywhere.
But that raises an equally important question: how do we use this money? Do we have the systems to allocate it effectively? Very few countries have national infrastructure investment plans that are informed by risk data.
Switzerland – our GP 2025 host – is a standout. The Swiss Government and private sector invest billions every year in disaster risk reduction and measuring outcomes. And the returns of this investment are clear: just last week, when the village of Blatten was obliterated by a landslide, triggered by glacial melting, nearly all the population, plus their livestock, were evacuated to safety thanks to early warnings and robust risk management.
We must continue to focus on infrastructure investment planning. This Platform brought together finance ministers and planners from several countries— but let’s go further. Next time we should bring 70 finance ministers, and ask them: “What is your infrastructure investment strategy, and how is it risk-informed?”
We must go even further, and take the discussion beyond top-level conversations, down to sector-by-sector planning, and ask, “where is the risk?”
Our 2025 Global Assessment Report can help show where the risk is; now we need to translate those findings into strategic investments, at scale. Otherwise, our development gains will be continuously eroded.
This next leap is also about mainstreaming risk-informed development — something we’ve talked about for two decades, but we still haven’t done enough. This means investing in humble infrastructure – homes, schools, hospitals – and not just in power, water, transport, and telecoms.
During the GP we had a ministerial roundtable on school safety. We know how to make schools safer: in Nepal, after the 2015 earthquake, every one of the 150 retrofitted schools in Kathmandu Valley remained usable.
And in doing all this, we must keep our promise to the Small Island Developing States, who are at the frontline of increasing climate disasters.
Third: there is inspiration all around us
My third point is about inspiration. What has been really inspiring at this Platform is the work of community groups, women’s groups, youth groups, local governments.
The innovative work is happening at local levels. We need to capture and elevate these initiatives – not just to circulate in reports, but to give legitimacy, voice, and funding so these actions can be scaled.
The future of disaster risk reduction is not just national. It’s in cities, towns, and villages.
If we don’t reduce risk at the local level, we won’t succeed. Local actors are already taking action – they are not waiting for the UN or national governments. We must scale this work.
Watch some examples of inspiring initiatives
To sum up: If we consolidate our progress – without taking it for granted; if we fast-track financing for DRR; and if we elevate local action, we will go far. In five years, we will be celebrating not just disaster risk reduction, but human flourishing.
The slogan for the 2025 Global Platform has been ‘Every day counts: act for resilience today.’ We must all take that call to heart.
The work starts now.
We have the eight-point Geneva Call for Disaster Risk Reduction to guide us, outlined in the Global Platform Co-Chairs’ Summary.
When asked how the Global Platform was, I say: I’ll tell you in six months – because the discussions and pledges made this week are only as good as the follow-up.
Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who put in so much hard work that contributed to the success of the 2025 Global Platform: The Government of Switzerland and the Canton of Geneva for hosting, the Member States and ministers, UN partners, my UNDRR team, and most of all, the dedicated and tireless DRR community who joined us in Geneva and remotely.