Countries need to become more proactive rather than reactive, and Bank support to countries must do more to encourage this shift. This report recommends several adjustments to the way the Bank currently handles natural disasters. First, it suggests revisions to policy to better guide staff and enhance flexibility of Bank responses to natural disasters. Second, it encourages increased Bank capacity to respond to disasters and to ensure that it can be mobilized quickly. Finally, it recommends that the Bank prepare a strategy or action plan for natural disaster assistance that includes an assessment of each country’s level of disaster risk, and differentiation of approach on the basis of that assessment.
