LocationsPapua New Guinea has become the first country in the Pacific to undertake the Disaster Risk Reduction Maturity Model (DDRRMM) assessment, marking an important milestone in the country’s efforts to strengthen disaster risk governance, institutional capacity and resilience.
Papua New Guinea Leads the Pacific with First Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Maturity Assessment
September 8, 2026
The assessment brought together government agencies, development partners and other stakeholders to identify strengths, address critical gaps and set priorities for a stronger disaster risk management system.
UNDP Papua New Guinea/Juho Valta
The DDRRMM workshop, led by the National Disaster Centre (NDC) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with the financial support from the Australian Government through the PNG-Australia Partnership, brought together representatives from key government institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to assess Papua New Guinea’s current disaster risk reduction and resilience capacities.
The assessment provides a structured and participatory approach to identify existing strengths, institutional and operational gaps, and priority actions needed to build a stronger and more effective disaster risk management system.
For Papua New Guinea, a country exposed to multiple natural and climate-related hazards, the assessment comes at a critical time. Communities across the country face risks from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides, droughts, coastal hazards and the increasing impacts of climate change. Strengthening the institutions and systems responsible for managing these risks is essential to protecting lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and development gains.
Various parts of Papua New Guinea are currently suffering from severe drought conditions caused by El Niño
UNDP Papua New Guinea/Juho Valta
By undertaking the DDRRMM assessment, Papua New Guinea becomes the first country in the Pacific to apply the DDRRMM approach, creating an important opportunity to strengthen its own national systems while generating lessons that could inform disaster risk reduction and resilience efforts across the wider Pacific region.
Mr. Lusete Laso Mana, Acting Director General of the National Disaster Centre, said the assessment represents an important step in strengthening Papua New Guinea’s disaster risk management system. “The DDRRMM assessment gives us an opportunity to look critically at where we are as a country, identify the strengths we can build upon and, importantly, understand the gaps that need to be addressed. For Papua New Guinea, resilience must be built from the national level through to provinces, districts and communities. The findings from this process will help us establish clear priorities for strengthening our institutions, coordination mechanisms and capacities so that we can better protect our people before, during and after disasters,” said Mr. Mana.
The workshop used a participatory self-assessment process, enabling government agencies and partners to jointly examine existing capacities and develop a shared understanding of priority areas for strengthening disaster risk reduction and resilience.
Mr. Lusete Laso Mana, Acting Director General of the National Disaster Centre, during his remarks.
UNDP Papua New Guinea/Juho Valta
Mr. Nicholas Booth, UNDP Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea, highlighted the significance of Papua New Guinea being the first Pacific country to undertake the assessment.
“Papua New Guinea’s decision to become the first country in the Pacific to undertake the DDRRMM assessment demonstrates important leadership in building a more resilient future. But the real value of an assessment lies in what follows. We need to translate the findings into practical institutional reforms, stronger capacities, better use of risk information and sustained investment in prevention and preparedness. UNDP is proud to work alongside the Government of Papua New Guinea and Australia to help turn this assessment into concrete actions that strengthen resilience for communities across the country,” he stated.
UNDP Resident Representative, Nicholas Booth, addressing the participants.
UNDP Papua New Guinea/Juho Valta
The DDRRMM process will provide an evidence base for the development of a national roadmap for strengthening disaster risk reduction and resilience, helping Papua New Guinea identify existing strengths, critical capacity gaps, and priority areas for investment and technical assistance.
The assessment is particularly timely as Papua New Guinea advances broader reforms to strengthen its disaster risk management architecture. It will help identify priority actions to strengthen national and subnational disaster risk governance and institutional arrangements, improve coordination and clarify roles and responsibilities across government, and enhance the generation, sharing and use of multi-hazard risk information for decision-making. These efforts will also align with the Government’s Digitalisation Plan, led by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), supporting stronger digital systems, data interoperability and information sharing across government to enable more timely and risk-informed decision-making.
The assessment will also support efforts to strengthen preparedness, anticipatory action, response and resilient recovery, while advancing approaches to disaster risk financing and the integration of disaster and climate risks into development planning and budgeting. Importantly, it will identify priority capacity-development needs at national and subnational levels and provide a sequenced pathway for building a stronger, more coordinated and resilient disaster risk management system across Papua New Guinea.
Madeleine Moss, Minister Counsellor from the Australian High Commission, stressed Australia's commitment to building PNG's resilience to natural disasters.
UNDP Papua New Guinea/Juho Valta
The Australian Government, through the PNG-Australia Partnership, is supporting Papua New Guinea’s efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness, risk governance and institutional resilience as well as response and recovery.
Madeleine Moss, Minister Counsellor, Subnational Governance and Human Capital, Australian High Commission, said: “Australia is proud to support Papua New Guinea in strengthening its disaster preparedness and resilience as well as response and recovery. Our longstanding partnership recognises that investing in disaster risk reduction before disasters occur is critical to protecting lives, livelihoods and development gains. By strengthening institutions and capacities at both national and subnational levels, we can help communities better anticipate, prepare for and respond to disasters. This kind of capability will be especially important in preparing for and responding to the impacts of El Niño, including increased risks of drought, water and food insecurity, and other pressures on vulnerable communities. Australia remains committed to working alongside the Government of Papua New Guinea and its partners to build a safer and more resilient future for all Papua New Guineans.”
Papua New Guinea is shifting the focus from responding to disasters after they occur to anticipating and reducing risks.
UNDP Papua New Guinea/Juho Valta
The workshop emphasized that building resilience requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, with strong coordination among national and provincial governments, communities, civil society, the private sector and development partners.
The outcomes of the workshop will be consolidated into the DDRRMM assessment and will inform the development of priority actions and a roadmap for strengthening Papua New Guinea’s disaster risk reduction and resilience capacities.
As the first Pacific country to undertake the DDRRMM assessment, Papua New Guinea is taking an important step toward shifting the focus from responding to disasters after they occur to anticipating and reducing risks before they become disasters, while strengthening the institutions, systems and investments needed for a more resilient future.
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