Manila, Jan 29 (IANS) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has approved a policy-based loan of 500 million US dollars to provide the Philippines with quick access to financing in case of disasters triggered by natural hazards or health-related emergencies.
The ADB said the financing will support reforms to raise resilience and enable timely response and recovery efforts.
The Second Disaster Resilience Improvement Programme is a multiyear contingent disaster financing program with an option to replenish the facility twice, upon approval by the ADB Board. Loan renewals are allowed if there will be unutilized amounts after the initial five-year period.
The World Risk Report 2024 states that the Philippines is ranked as the highest in disaster risk out of 193 economies in 2024.
“The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia but is at high risk for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, rising sea levels, and flooding,” said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran.
He said the programme helps boost the country’s capacity for reducing and managing disaster risk nationally and locally, including state-owned and controlled corporations, and attain long-term resilience to lessen the impact of disasters, especially to the most vulnerable sectors.
According to the World Bank, the Philippines are highly prone to disasters triggered by natural disasters, with some estimations placing 60 per cent of its land area and 74 per cent of its population as exposed to numerous hazards, including floods, cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis and landslides.
Since 1990, the country has faced 565 such disasters, killing 70,000 and costing $23 billion in damages. With the exception of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the multiple natural hazards facing the Philippines are projected to intensify under climate change.
–IANS
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