Fund Resilience, Not Disasters.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is calling on organisations, governments, civil society, youth groups, the private sector and all stakeholders to submit events in support of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) 2025, to be held on 13 October 2025. This year's theme is "Fund Resilience, Not Disasters."

Disasters are becoming more frequent, more costly, and far more devastating. While direct disaster losses have been estimated at around US$202 billion per year, the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 indicates that the true cost is nearly US$2.3 trillion annually.

Yet investing in disaster risk reduction (DRR) remains under-prioritised in national budgets and international assistance. This year, IDDRR 2025 calls for a decisive shift: to fund resilience now to prevent paying more later when disasters strike.

Key messages

• Disasters are a growing threat to economic prosperity and sustainable development, with costs underestimated and unsustainable.
• Disaster costs are pushing countries into spirals of increased debt, lower incomes, increased insurability, and repeated humanitarian crises.
• Declining international assistance makes it even more critical to reduce disaster losses through disaster risk reduction investments.
• Cutting funding for disaster risk reduction leads to more expensive disasters in the future, along with more humanitarian needs.
• To reduce disaster costs, countries must increase funding for disaster risk reduction and ensure all development investments are risk-informed.

How to participate!

Organisers are invited to share details of publicly available events, campaigns, workshops, or other activities that raise awareness of the theme "Fund Resilience, Not Disasters". Submit your event details to our email address by October 10, 2025.