Swarna Kazi is a Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank and the Bangladesh Focal Point for the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). Swarna is responsible for strengthening country partnerships, managing policy dialogues, leading operations and analytics to advance the disaster risk management and climate change agenda in Bangladesh. Swarna is leading an investment portfolio of over US$ 1 billion of high priority disaster and climate resilience, fragility and conflict, emergency preparedness and response, complex multisector operations. Swarna has worked with the World Bank for around 15 years, initially joining in 2002.
Prior to her current position at the World Bank, Swarna was based in London and working as an Evidence and Policy Advisor in the United Kingdom Government Ministerial Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). At DEFRA, Swarna was responsible for strategic guidance on enabling evidence-based policy formulation in the Water Directorate. Swarna has also been an independent consultant working on issues relating to disaster risk management, climate change, environment and sustainable development, adaptive delta management, and integrated water resources management.
Swarna was educated at Oxford University (Christ Church College), where she obtained a Master’s in Science in Water Science, Policy, and Management. She also completed the coursework for a Master's in Science in Water Resources Development from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).