World Bank Gets Readiness Bug... Finally

World Bank's Internal Examination Urges Disaster Readiness

Color me surprised, but I seem to remember an old adage that say "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure." Worldwide preparation, building of adequate infrastructure, development of layered security systems, prevention and proper training need to be the way world relief funding directs its aid because it will save money, time and lives.... and US tax dollars leaving our nation and our coffers.

Maybe if we saved a ton of money on WMF funding, we could pay some attention to our own issues of preparedness, infrastructure, prevention and training.

The World Bank should pay far more attention than it does to helping poor countries prepare for predictable natural disasters and not simply to rebuilding after them, according to a report by a self-evaluation arm of the Washington-based institution.

Much of the tens of billions of dollars in disaster-recovery loans and grants are going to rebuild the same flood-, hurricane- or earthquake-prone locations with little or no thought to ensuring that these places, and their residents, end up better able to withstand future catastrophes, the reviewers said.

"We have more scientific know-how today than we did before. We know the vulnerability; we know the hot spots," said Vinod Thomas, a World Bank economist who directed the review. "But prevention is far more the exception than the norm."

Both providers of aid and the recipients need to realize that "as you react to a disaster, think of the next one. Build stronger mitigation early on."

The bank's Independent Evaluation Group suggested a range of steps in a 179-page document, "Hazards of Nature, Risks to Development."

They include purely physical improvements: stronger buildings, more long-lasting temporary housing, rebuilding roads to make them more efficient at moving large populations. The report also calls for equipment and training, such as tsunami or cyclone early warning systems, which would permit people to flee disasters.

It also urges using World Bank loans to stimulate changes to the economies of countries recovering from natural disasters.

For example, less than 2 percent of disaster losses in developing countries are covered by insurance, compared with about 50 percent in the United States. The bank should encourage the growth of an insurance sector in low-income countries, as it will make them less dependent on charity and may indirectly lead to better preparedness through measures such as stricter building codes.

The World Bank does a lot of post-disaster lending -- 528 projects worth more than $26 billion since 1984.