Forecasting hazards, averting disasters

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4  Financing FbA

All forecast-based early action mechanisms recognise 

the importance of being able to deploy funding and 

other resources in a predictable and reliable way. FbA 

programmes have applied a variety of financing tools, 

including dedicated funds, specific windows in emergency 

response funds, insurance or contingent finance and 

direct links to regular resource allocation processes. 

Acting on the basis of forecasts does not necessarily 

require new funding, but it certainly calls for the 

more rational use of existing funds. In middle-income 

countries funding is usually available for preparedness, 

but is often not allocated consistently or quickly enough 

to reduce disaster losses. Although many FbA initiatives 

do set aside resources to finance pre-determined actions, 

infrastructure needs to be in place to deliver support, 

whether cash transfers or other types of assistance.

In terms of where the funding comes from, there 

appears to be growing interest in combining different 

sources, triggered at different times and used to fund 

different kinds of measures, from communicating 

information early on, when uncertainty is high, through 

to higher-cost activities as uncertainty is reduced. All 

of this requires significant planning, clarification of 

responsibilities, coordination and costing of anticipatory 

actions. As initiatives are scaled up, it will become 

clearer to what extent FbA can help streamline, co-

benefit and increase the effectiveness of disaster risk 

management by donors, governments and humanitarian 

and development organisations.