G20 Council's Second Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) Meeting

The G20 Council's Second Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) meeting was held in Mumbai between May 23 and 25, 2023. The meeting was centered around five focus areas: i) Global Coverage of Early Warning Systems; ii) Disaster and Climate Resilience Infrastructure; iii) Financing Frameworks for Disaster Risk Reduction; and iv) National and global disaster recovery and rehabilitation system; increased application of ecosystems-based approaches to disaster risk reduction.  

The meeting was inaugurated by Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, who called for collaboration between governments, international organizations, and the private sector to explore new avenues for mobilizing funding. Dr. Pawar emphasized the importance of long-term recovery efforts and international cooperation in supporting reconstruction initiatives and revitalizing local economies.

The participants, including senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, and the Government of Maharashtra recognized the need for an institutional framework that supports infrastructure investments and the role of social protection systems in mitigating the impact of disasters on vulnerable populations.

The meeting involved discussion on the five focus areas, with agreement to develop compendiums for early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, and early action/finance to document good practice and experience from G20 countries, and invited partners. During the technical sessions, the G20 countries discussed a roadmap for the DRRWG for the next three years, which will be a living document to be shaped by future G20 presidencies of Brazil and South Africa. The Indian Presidency aims to mainstream disaster risk reduction in policy spaces and shift the paradigm from disaster response to anticipatory action and risk reduction.

During the risk finance side events, Sumati Rajput (Financial Sector Specialist, Crisis and Disaster Risk Finance) presented the World Bank's approach to disaster risk finance, emphasizing the Bank's efforts to understand country priorities and assist in developing country-specific strategies. She provided examples of layered risk financing solutions embedded within risk management frameworks, highlighting countries such as Mozambique, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, and Rwanda. Sumati also shared the Bank's experience with Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Options (Cat DDOs) as an instrument that showcases the complementary nature of disaster risk reduction and disaster risk finance, using examples from Malawi and the Philippines. Furthermore, she offered inputs and expertise to G20 members, aiming to enhance their understanding of disaster risk finance and support their interventions in this area.

The next and final meeting of the DRRWG under India's G20 Presidency will be held in Chennai from July 24 to 26, 2023. The initiative to include Disaster Risk Reduction in the G20 is aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and its mid-term review that was undertaken earlier in May 2023 in New York.