The United Nations (UN) has launched a joint platform aiming to secure access to more than $3 billion in risk financing to protect 75 million people and their livelihoods from climate shocks and natural hazards by 2030.
The initiative was launched by UN agencies at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
The UN Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) Platform brings together six UN agencies: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
The platform aims to make disaster response financing more predictable, increase the availability of resources for early action during major crises and maximise the impact of every dollar by combining existing resources with private sector support.
It will enable agencies to share expertise, pool data and coordinate solutions to expand the UN’s use of pre-arranged financing.
By combining robust data and predictive analysis with funding, the platform will help governments and agencies turn early warnings into anticipatory action, strengthening emergency responses before, during and after disasters.
Collaboration across agencies will also ensure funding is used more efficiently and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities to future shocks. Engagement with the insurance industry and financial markets will be key to reducing costs as financing scales up. The platform will allow all agencies to participate fully while maintaining their programmatic and operational independence.
The initiative has already delivered its first results: with support from WFP’s specialist insurance teams, OCHA and UNICEF have put in place insurance policies that provide a financial safety net for their anticipatory action programmes.
Pre-arranged financing still accounts for less than 2% of global humanitarian financing, falling far short of the scale needed. Through the UN DRF Platform, members can work together and combine their expertise and resources to help close this gap.
Máximo Torero Cullen, FAO Chief Economist, said, “At a time when crises are becoming increasingly interconnected and frequent, we must invest in robust data, advanced analytics and predictive capacities to anticipate risks and act before they escalate. Thanks to strong partnerships, over the past decade FAO has been able to assist millions of vulnerable rural people with anticipatory actions ahead of predicted shocks. The UN Disaster Risk Financing Platform provides an opportunity to further bring together collective expertise, data and existing investments to foster collaboration and scale up innovative financing solutions to avoid humanitarian crises, build resilience, save lives and livelihoods.”
Maria Moita, IOM Director, Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery, commented, “When disasters strike, families can lose their homes, livelihoods and everything they have built. Yet many of these risks can be anticipated, and acting early can reduce the risk of displacement. At IOM, we work with communities to understand these risks, strengthen preparedness and help people remain safely where they are whenever possible. Through this platform, we can combine our expertise with more predictable financing to turn early warnings into action and better protect those most at risk.”
Lisa Doughten, Director of Financing and Outreach at UN-OCHA, stated, “Disasters are increasingly predictable, yet the financing needed to act ahead of them remains slow and fragmented. The UN Disaster Risk Financing Platform reflects our conviction that pre-arranged finance, deployed at scale and before crises escalate, is the right approach to better protect vulnerable communities and reduce humanitarian impacts.”
Gernot Laganda, UNICEF Global Practice Director for Climate and Environment, said, “A robust forecast can give us days, sometimes even weeks, to act before a flood, storm or heatwave puts children at risk. Those precious days can mean access to safe water, essential health and nutrition supplies in place, and families able to get to safety before disaster strikes. Insurance ensures we have the money available to act on that warning, even in a year when several disasters come at once. Through this platform, we will be able to protect many more children.”
Antón Leis García, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, said, “For millions of refugees already on the frontlines of the climate crisis, acting early can save lives, protect livelihoods and prevent further displacement. The UN Disaster Risk Financing Platform marks an important step towards working as one UN to ensure financing is in place before disasters strike. By making funding faster, more predictable and accessible to those most at risk, we can better protect forcibly displaced people and their host communities and help them build a more resilient future.”
Rania Dagash, WFP Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation, added, “Our anticipatory action, insurance and contingency funds have helped millions of food insecure people reduce the impacts of floods, droughts and storms, and get back on their feet faster after disasters. As the United Nations’ largest user of pre-arranged financing, WFP has helped secure nearly US$211 million in pre-arranged finance to protect up to 9.6 million people in more than 50 countries this year. Our collaboration across the UN system will make sure financing arrives at the right time, in the right place, at a lower cost.”
