Why Resilience & Disaster Management Are Central to Jobs

At the World Bank Group, our goal is to help countries build economies that convert growth into local jobs. Over the next 10 to 15 years, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will reach working age, but only about 400 million jobs are expected to be created. That is why we invest in the foundational physical and human infrastructure for jobs, support business-friendly environments, and mobilize private capital to accelerate job creation at scale.

None of that works without resilience and disaster management. A road washed out by a flood is not connecting businesses to markets. A hospital damaged by an earthquake is not delivering healthcare that keeps workers productive. A farm devastated by drought is not generating the agribusiness growth that employs rural communities. Disaster risk is not a separate development challenge—it is a direct threat to the infrastructure, investment climate, and human capital that jobs depend on.

The World Bank Group increasingly focuses on resilience solutions that can be replicated and scaled across countries facing similar risks, combining financing, knowledge, policy reform, and private capital. The case studies in this brief show how disaster risk management supports jobs at scale. Examples include flood recovery and forecasting systems in Bangladesh that protected livelihoods; long‑term resilience financing for municipalities in Brazil that safeguarded and attracted jobs; policy reforms paired with prearranged financing in Rwanda and Tonga that preserved development spending during shocks; and public‑private partnerships in Türkiye that kept hospitals—and their workforces—operational during disasters and enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure.

Together, these examples underscore a central lesson: Resilience is an investment in the conditions that make jobs possible. As climate change, urbanization, and economic concentration increase exposure to risk, countries and cities that manage disasters proactively will be better positioned to attract investment, sustain growth, and deliver on job creation for the next generation of workers.

From Reconstruction to Risk Informed Development

When the World Bank approved its first loan in 1947 to support post‑war reconstruction in France after the Second World War, the primary objective was economic recovery. Over subsequent decades, experience demonstrated that rebuilding alone is insufficient in contexts where shocks recur. Disasters—like floods, earthquakes, droughts, or storms—can erase years of development progress in a single event, wiping out jobs, businesses, and livelihoods that took generations to build. Countries exposed to recurrent hazards can become trapped in repeated cycles of loss and recovery, each one setting back the conditions for job creation.

As a result, the World Bank’s approach has evolved from a focus on post-disaster reconstruction toward an integrated model that combines long-term development planning with proactive risk management. Today, the World Bank Group is committed to integrate resilience and adaptation across all operations, treating disaster risk management as a development priority that shapes how infrastructure is designed, services are delivered, and public finances are managed. As experience grows and costs stabilize, these solutions can be replicated and scaled, to expand their reach.

This approach is reflected across the World Bank Group. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the world's largest development bank, and the International Development Association (IDA), our fund for the poorest countries, support governments with long-term financing, policy reforms, and investment projects that reduce disaster risk, strengthen preparedness, and enable resilient recovery. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) mobilizes private investment and supports businesses in managing climate and disaster risks across infrastructure, transport, health, and financial services. The Multilateral Investment Guarantees Agency (MIGA) provides guarantees that help attract private capital for disaster resilient investments, including through public- private partnerships. Together, these instruments enable countries to move from reacting to disasters after they strike to managing risk as a core element of development and investment decisions.

The World Bank’s Role in Building Resilience

The World Bank is a major provider of financing, technical assistance, and analytical support for disaster risk management. Between 2010 and 2020, the World Bank significantly expanded its disaster risk reduction financing, supported by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), which funds upstream analytics and enables the design of innovative resilience investments. Annual World Bank investments in disaster risk management grew from $7.5 to approximately $10.9 billion between FY24 and FY25, reflecting growing recognition that unmanaged risk undermines development outcomes and the jobs and livelihoods that depend on them.

The evidence is clear: When risk is reduced, countries and cities become more attractive to investors, businesses operate with greater certainty, and public resources can be directed more efficiently to job-creating priorities. World Bank research shows that increasing the resilience of infrastructure systems can yield benefits of roughly four dollars for every dollar invested—returns that arise not only from avoided physical damage, but from reduced service disruptions, improved productivity, and more reliable access to jobs and markets.

The current World Bank disaster risk management portfolio spans all regions and income levels, with a concentration of operations in flood and drought risk management, preparedness systems, and resilient recovery. Most projects support long-lived assets such as transport networks, schools, health facilities, and water systems in addition to policy reforms for disaster risk reduction, financing and crisis preparedness and response. Project sizes range from small technical assistance operations to large scale recovery and reconstruction programs.

Resilience in Action: Three Pillars, One Goal

Across regions, the World Bank Group’s experience shows that scalable resilience solutions combine knowledge, financing, and policy reform in ways that can be adapted to different country contexts. Whether through analytics, policy engagement, emergency preparedness systems, or private investment, these approaches protect foundational infrastructure, strengthen policies and regulations, and mobilize private capital—helping countries safeguard jobs, reduce losses, and recover faster and more sustainably from shocks.

Resilience as a Development Imperative

Disaster risk management is not an optional add-on to development policy. It is a prerequisite for protecting livelihoods, sustaining jobs, and ensuring that public and private investments deliver lasting value. The connection is direct: when disasters strike and are not managed, workers lose jobs, businesses close, and economic activity contracts. When risk is managed proactively, economies remain stable, investment continues, and workers are protected.

Advances in data, analytics, and digital technologies are strengthening this agenda. Tools like the World Bank’s Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) enable governments to assess damage faster, allocate resources more efficiently, and restore economic activity and employment more quickly. Similar analytical work on urban heat, flood exposure, and climate risks is increasingly informing World Bank investments in nature-based solutions, urban planning, and resilient infrastructure—helping countries get ahead of risk rather than simply respond to it.

As climate change and urbanization increase exposure to risk, integrating resilience into development planning is essential to sustaining jobs and achieving inclusive, stable growth. By reducing risk, strengthening preparedness, expanding financial protection, and applying innovation, countries can break the cycle of repeated losses that destroy livelihoods and stall job creation. Instead, they can follow a more resilient development path—one that protects workers, keeps businesses operating, and enables firms to invest and hire with confidence. By promoting scalable and replicable resilience solutions, the World Bank Group is helping countries expand these investments efficiently and deliver jobs at scale.