The initial hours and days after a humanitarian emergency are generally seen as the most important. Because they affect the rapid deployment of relief to people in need, international trade policies, and the way in which they are implemented, can make an enormous difference to the effectiveness...

Governments face growing contingent liabilities from disasters as they tend to shoulder a significant share of disaster response and recovery costs. Disaster shocks increase government expenditure and hamper economic activities. An increasing number of countries are developing financial...

More than 1 billion people have lifted themselves out of poverty in the past 15 years, but climate and disaster risks threaten these achievements. Global asset losses from disasters are now reaching an average of more than US