World Bank should fund disaster prevention projects
M. Shashidhar Reddy, Congress MLA and member of the National Disaster Management Authority, on Sunday wanted the World Bank to focus on funding disaster prevention. Delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the Sustainable Development Network Week organised by the Global Forum for Disaster Risk and Recovery (GFDRR) of the World Bank at Washington, Mr. Reddy said the bank at present approached natural disasters in a manner that was reactive rather than proactive and strategic. "When the World Bank is being reactive, project objectives provide for short-term fixes and rarely address the root causes of disaster. Projects are rushed to approval but then disbursement is delayed. Reconstruction projects build infrastructure that is not disaster resilient and the time required for implementation is consistently underestimated,' he said in a press release from Washington. Need for review There was a need to review the working of the World Bank itself to see how it could further get involved in disaster prevention, which will contribute significantly to sustainable development. Quoting from an evaluation about the bank's funding of projects across the world, he observed that it had mostly lent for emergencies since its inception. Some 110 countries have borrowed for natural disasters for about 528 projects covering more than 60 different activities. Reconstruction focus But these focused primarily on reconstruction with just 21 (out of 528) projects being wholly devoted to prevention. His other suggestions included preparing a strategy that takes into account the differing vulnerabilities of borrowing countries, modifying current operational guidelines so that they address the long-term development needs of borrowers and ensuring that the bank has sufficient specialised expertise available to respond quickly. Highlight A highlight of this year's events was the session under the cross-cutting theme "Investing in Disaster Prevention for Sustainable Development,' he said. The opening session was chaired by Kathy Sierra, Vice-President, Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank. "In India there is now a paradigm shift in our approach from the rescue and relief centric approach to a holistic approach covering all phases including pre-disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness,' he said.