From crisis to action: Mobilizing tools for rapid response and lasting resilience

Over the past year, I’ve seen a growing interest in, and a stronger demand for, better tools to prepare for and respond to crises. Our partners in government, the private sector, civil society, foundations, and other development organizations send us the same message time and time again: In the face of crisis, we need greater preparation and faster access to financing. 

When countries can act quickly during emergencies, they’re more likely to keep schools open, roads functioning, businesses running, and people employed. This stability is what allows the private sector to recover faster, helping governments avoid deeper poverty and disruptions and to instead focus on building strong foundations for recovery and long-term growth. 

That’s why last year we launched the World Bank’s Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit. The toolkit, which offers a range of groundbreaking tools, was developed to help countries build resilience and better address the effects of intensifying climate impacts, increasing pandemic risks, and deepening conflicts that are upending lives and livelihoods around the world. Since its launch, 66 of the countries we work with have adopted at least one of the Crisis Toolkit’s instruments. 

Last year, for instance, when Tropical Storm Sara caused catastrophic flooding and landslides in Honduras, government officials were ready. They activated the Toolkit’s Rapid Response Option (RRO), minimizing the storm’s impact on lives and infrastructure. This instrument allows countries to quickly repurpose and use up to 10 percent of undisbursed World Bank financing for emergency needs during a crisis. While traditional financing can take weeks or months to reach affected areas, the RRO bridges the gap between crisis and action by enabling access to existing but unused World Bank financing within days. This can be a game-changer in times of crisis.  

In Honduras, the government identified two active projects to draw funds from and disbursed $50.78 million toward its emergency response and recovery efforts within 24 hours of activating the RRO. Similarly, last year Romania accessed $47.3 million using the RRO to respond to floods that disrupted transport and utilities in several of its counties while Vanuatu accessed $12 million after a devastating 7.3-magnitude earthquake. Together, these three countries were able to repurpose over $110 million for their immediate emergency responses through the RRO. So far, 46 countries have adopted the RRO. 

In the past year, five countries— Grenada, Honduras, Nepal, Panama, and Romania—also drew a total of $530 million through another tool, the Development Policy Financing with Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (DPF Cat DDO), to respond to natural disasters. This instrument helps countries allocate more resources toward preparing for future crises. It also accelerates access to new financing when disasters hit, providing countries with immediate resources to manage the crisis and reducing trade-offs between their development priorities and emergency financing needs.   

The Crisis Toolkit has proven particularly valuable for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which face unique development challenges, often characterized by heightened vulnerability to shocks. It includes a set of concrete, expanded measures to help SIDS better prepare for crises and respond more effectively.  

Following Hurricane Beryl in 2024, for example, St. Vincent and the Grenadines used the Climate Resilience Debt Clauses (CRDC) while Grenada activated the DPF Cat DDO. The CRDC provides flexibility in debt repayments during climate-related disasters, allowing countries to prioritize disaster recovery efforts over debt repayment when catastrophes hit. This means they can focus on maintaining and restoring access to essentials like clean water, food, and power instead of paying loans.   

Expanded catastrophe insurance is another option as it offers increased protection against large-scale disasters. Through this mechanism, we enable countries to embed catastrophe bonds, insurance, and other risk management products into their World Bank financing operations. Governments can then recieve a payout in the event of a crisis, without taking on more debt. This approach helps mobilize private capital and passes on the risk of rare but severe disasters to international reinsurance and capital markets.  

A swift response to crises—whether natural disasters, health shocks or conflict—is not just about saving lives. It also maintains the conditions necessary for economic growth and jobs. In this way, crisis preparedness becomes part of the broader development agenda: It’s about investing in risk reduction while keeping economies stable enough for the private sector to thrive.