New Delhi: A new online portal launched by the Commonwealth Secretariat will help the member countries easily find the right type of financial support to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.
The Commonwealth Disaster Risk Finance Portal will serve as a 'one-stop shop' where information on one-stop-shop national funding earmarked for catastrophes is compiled, streamlined and made easy to navigate.
For governments, the tool will simplify the process of identifying the financing best-suited to their needs, and connect them with the relevant contacts to access the funds more efficiently.
The portal will not only serve as a database of valuable information but also help build the capacity of governments to seek and secure disaster risk finance.
In the long term, it will help promote more strategic responses to disaster management and build financial resilience, especially for climate-vulnerable countries.
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Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: "The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, including those brought about by climate change, has cost the Commonwealth countries billions in damage and lost economic opportunities, and hinders their ability to achieve their sustainable development goals.
"The need for a practical tool to support disaster risk financing is therefore urgent. This portal seeks to reduce the obstacles governments face in mobilising essential funding, while strengthening financial resilience to disasters, both before and after they strike."