UN/ISDR asked experts and colleagues from various backgrounds to share their points of view on the issue. These are summarised in 10 conclusions, and available in detail in the document Invest to Prevent Disaster .

There are many examples throughout the world of successful disaster risk reduction through microfinance. Some case studies can be found here, while expert opinions and experiences are available here. A case produced by the Kenyan Red Cross will be presented by the IFRC at the Geneva press briefing.

Many organisations and institutions are involved in microfinance for disaster reduction. A selection of links can be found here.

To celebrate the International Day for Disaster Reduction, UN/ISDR and its partners are organising various events around the world. A number of financial experts, disaster managers and UN specialists will gather on 14 and 15 October in New Delhi, India, to discuss the impacts of microfinance in countries affected by the tsunami last December. Other events will also take place in Geneva, Switzerland; Bangkok, Thailand; and Dushanbe, Tajikistan to promote dialogue on the potential of using microfinance tools to reduce disaster risk and increase community resilience. ISDR will prepare a publication on the results of the debate by the end of the year for wide dissemination.

The lesson we must draw is encapsulated in the theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Reduction: “Invest to prevent disaster.” We cannot stop natural calamities, but we can and must better equip individuals and communities to withstand them. Those most vulnerable to nature’s wrath are usually the poorest, which means that when we reduce poverty, we also reduce vulnerability.

In this International Year of Microcredit, we should recognize that microfinance can do much to help empower those with little or no access to traditional financial institutions, thereby reducing disaster risk and improving disaster management. By diversifying the income of high-risk populations and promoting disaster insurance, microfinance can strengthen coping mechanisms before disasters, while hastening recovery afterwards.

These are the type of innovative approaches called for in the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in January, and reaffirmed in September at the World Summit at United Nations Headquarters in New York. On this International Day, after a year in which we should all have learned profound lessons, I call on governments at all levels, international organizations, civil society groups, and the private sector to implement this framework and invest in poverty reduction and disaster prevention, in order to build resilient communities and save lives.

"Micro finance is a successful tool to empower women to help reduce their poverty and therefore, their vulnerability to disasters.”