Investing in Resilience, Not Recovery The escalating cost of disasters highlights the consequences of the increased impact of climate change and poor development decisions.Globally, countries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters, driven by both extreme weather and planning disregard for risk. Direct losses from disasters are estimated at $202 billion per year, with losses estimated at $2.3 trillion when broader economic impacts are included.Developing countries suffer the most, while rich countries also face high economic losses. Nevertheless, investments in disaster risk reduction remain minimal.Less than 1 per cent of national public budgets are allocated to disaster risk reduction, and only 2 per cent of official development assistance projects between 2019 and 2023 incorporate disaster risk reduction objectives.In addition, humanitarian funding for disaster preparedness is declining. A key problem is that both public and private sector economic strategies tend to ignore disaster risk.The private sector, which controls 75 per cent of global investment, is often blind to climate threats, increasing vulnerability and potential losses. To address this issue, national strategies must integrate disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation efforts.Governments should develop regulations, risk data and incentives to encourage private sector investment in resilience. The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 calls for two actions: 1) increasing the proportion of public and international budgets devoted to disaster risk reduction; and 2) ensuring that all development and private investments are risk-aware and resilient.