Locations‘Fund Resilience, Not Disasters’: The Risk-Informed Development Learning Journey in Ethiopia and Burundi
October 13, 2025
In the 1960s Ethiopian barley was introduced into the genetic material of the American barley as a treatment for the disease affecting production.
Having worked in the field of disaster and climate risk governance for over a decade, I’ve seen firsthand how risk-informed development can transform not just policies, but lives. In Ethiopia and Burundi, the commitment of local officials and partners to mainstream resilience isn’t just about numbers or strategies – it’s about protecting families, livelihoods, and futures. Witnessing participants break silos and collaborate across sectors reminds me that real progress happens when people come together, share knowledge, and act with purpose. These learning events aren’t merely workshops; they’re the start of a journey towards a shared commitment and a community of practice that can be hardwired into the institutions we support. This is a critical step to be able to withstand the increasingly devastating impact of disasters and climate change.
The escalating impacts of disasters and climate change
Today, no corner of the globe is immune from the devastating consequences of climate change-driven disasters. From rising sea levels threatening coastal communities to extreme weather events such as droughts that devastate entire regions, the impacts are profound and far-reaching.
As global temperatures rise, extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, requiring countries across the world to adapt and strengthen their capacity to manage escalating risks. In 2024, the global average temperature clearly exceeded 1.5°C above the pre-industrial levels for the first time – a threshold established under the Paris Agreement to significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.
According to the recent UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) 2025, the total annual global economic cost of disasters is approximately $2.3 trillion when cascading impacts and ecosystem costs are considered, far exceeding the direct economic losses of about $202 billion annually.
Disaster and Climate Risk-Informed Development for Building a Safer Future
The changes we are experiencing are fundamentally altering the way we live, work, and interact with our planet, affecting our ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Traditional development models simply can't keep pace with these mounting challenges.
Risk-informed development (RID) steps in to fill this gap, weaving disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) directly into the fabric of policy-making and planning. Imagine a world where everyday decisions are shaped by a clear understanding of the risks that threaten our future. This is the essence of RID – a proactive approach that channels funds into building resilience now, to avoid paying for disasters later, as the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) 2025 calls for.
Embracing RID means fostering collaboration across sectors and mobilizing resources for resilience. It's about empowering communities and institutions to withstand shocks and adapt to change, ensuring that efforts to build a better world aren't undone by the next storm or crisis. In short, it's a call for smarter, stronger, and sustainable development – one that protects both people and planet for generations to come.
How do we do it?
In an effort to provide strategic and operational guidance to its partner countries on integrated and coherent approaches to mainstreaming DRR and CCA into development planning and budgeting, UNDP launched a ‘Strategy Tool for Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation into Development’ in 2021. The tool supports advocacy efforts to build a broad commitment among the key actors for RID, featuring five spheres of action that can help advance and institutionalize the DRR-CCA mainstreaming process: policy, knowledge, finance, stakeholders and organization.
As a next step, UNDP developed an accompanying Learning Offer in 2022 to operationalize the Strategy Tool at national and subnation levels. Since then, the RID Learning Experience has taken root in diverse contexts in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe/CIS. It has so far benefited 16 countries, 24 subnational and local governments and over 300 officials across 10 sectors.
“ Ethiopia has already several key elements in place such as its new DMR policy, DRF strategy, the Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, NAPA, and DRM mainstreaming checklist. These provide opportunities for further advancing the integration of DRR and CCA into development.”
Ethiopia and Burundi’s Learning Journey on Risk-informed Development
In 2025, UNDP with financial support from the EU-OACPS under the “Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance and Recovery Capacities Project”, made major progress in institutionalizing learning on how to practically embed RID in planning and budgeting processes in Ethiopia and Burundi.
In Ethiopia, UNDP launched a Foundational Training on Disaster and Climate Risk-Informed Development (RID) in partnership with the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) and other national agencies. Held in Addis Ababa in July, 37 mid-level government officials representing federal and regional institutions from Oromia, Sidama, Central Ethiopia, and South Ethiopia participated in the training, including Ministries of Finance, Planning, Agriculture, Urban Development, Education, Water and Energy, and academic partners like Bahir Dar University and Kotebe University of Education. This marked the first phase of a broader capacity-building initiative, with a follow-up Training of Trainer to take place later in the year.
In Burundi, a national learning event in September brought together 50 participants from government, UN Agencies, and international partners in Gitega to foster a shared understanding for integrating DRR and CCA into Burundi's development planning, with a special focus on urban development and agricultural sectors.
UNDP is also assisting the government to institutionalize this learning by creating a cadre of trainers who can continue to deliver such learning programmes beyond the project. Furthermore, 10 strategic recommendations to strengthen RID based on the five above mentioned spheres of action were jointly identified.
“ In Burundi, the creation or strengthening of coordination cells within key ministries was considered crucial to facilitate joint planning, as well as greater synergy between public institutions, NGOs and technical and financial partners.”
What did we achieve?
By bringing together officials from National Disaster Management Authorities, Ministries of Environment, Planning, Finance, and other key sectors, these learning experiences enabled participants to:
- Design practical roadmaps for DRR/CCA integration that are inclusive and span from national down to the local level;
- Achieve a common understanding of the fundamental concepts of how DRR, CCA and sustainable development are linked;
- Identify practical entry points for pursuing a mainstreaming process that yields lasting results; and
- Break institutional silos, foster coherence and partnerships.
Participants also identified follow-up mainstreaming actions that will be implemented with the support of UNDP and partners in the aftermath of the trainings. Both events concluded with participants presentations by senior officials who emphasised their commitments to coordination and pursuing multisectoral, and sustained efforts, backed by resource mobilization.
Why it matters?
These workshops represent a significant step towards mainstreaming development in Africa. By building capacity, fostering collaboration, and prioritizing resilience, Ethiopia and Burundi are setting examples for integrating disaster and climate risk management into national development agendas.
