Kinshasa — new report by the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), identifies priority reforms that would help the government, households, and businesses better withstand natural disasters and climate shocks. It provides a foundation for the development of a national Disaster Risk Finance Strategy and will guide dialogue with development partners.
The Disaster Risk Finance Diagnostic for the DRC assesses how disaster response is currently funded, along with the priorities, marking a major step toward improving the country's ability to finance and respond to natural disasters and climate shocks. Given the country's high exposure to floods, epidemics, landslides, volcanic eruptions and droughts--which have affected over 8 million people in the past two decades--the diagnostic underscores the urgency of strengthening financial preparedness for the most vulnerable populations.
Key findings of the report:
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- A persistent financing gap: Average annual emergency response needs, for floods and epidemics alone, are estimated at $62 million, with severe events costing up to $389 million for a major flood or $60 million for a severe epidemic. Current government allocations amount to $3.5 million per year, a significant funding gap.
- There is heavy reliance on post-disaster humanitarian aid, rather than prevention, resilience planning.
- Limited domestic financing mechanisms: Existing instruments often prove insufficient in scale and are rapidly depleted--there is a 61% chance the budget will be exhausted each year.
- Promising progress on pre-arranged financing: New instruments under negotiation--including reserves, contingent credit, and sovereign parametric insurance--could, once active in 2026, expand the government's response capacity significantly, enabling support to 280,000 to 3.4 million people depending on the chosen strategy.
- Strengthening coordination: The adoption of the 2025 Disaster Risk Management Regulation aims to address institutional fragmentation and improve operational coordination across ministries.
"This diagnostic demonstrates the new Knowledge Bank, the production of cutting-edge analyses by the World Bank Group that are practical and can be acted upon by the government and other partners. It is the first time a report provides estimated costs of disasters in DRC and details the role and responsibilities of the institutions involved in the financing and the response to disasters. Because crises should not be treated as surprises, we are proud to strengthen the government's financial preparedness to disasters and are preparing operations that will augment the pre-arranged financing available allowing the government to respond quickly for a faster economic recovery," said Albert Zeufack, World Bank Division Director for Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe.
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For more information about the World Bank's work on disaster risk finance, please visit the Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Program.
Contacts:
Kinshasa: Marinette Utezi Kegbia, mkegbia@worldbankgroup.org
Washington: Daniella Van Leggelo Padilla, dvanleggelo@worldbank.org
