The Economics of Early Response and Resilience: Lessons from Bangladesh

Abstract

The impacts of natural disasters and complex emergencies have been increasing over recent decades, putting the humanitarian system under considerable pressure. The costs of humanitarian crises are also growing – not only do disasters and complex emergencies result in significant economic losses, but they also require mobilization of large amounts of humanitarian aid from the international community. It is widely held that, broadly speaking, investment in early response and/or building the resilience of communities to cope with risk in disaster prone regions is more cost-effective than the ever-mounting humanitarian response. Yet little solid data exists to support this claim, and there is a clear need for a greater evidence base to support reform. The UK Government commissioned an independent study to contribute to filling these evidence gaps. This report presents the findings from the country study on Bangladesh, and sits within a suite of reports within the Economics of Early Response and Resilience (TEERR) Series