ADB approves $1.3 million grant for disaster management

MANILA, Philippines — Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $1.3 million (P65.35 million) technical assistance grant to improve cooperation on disaster management in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia.

Other beneficiaries of the grant are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The grant aims to support the ASEAN Secretariat and the member states in implementing the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Program 2021-2025 by supporting increased cooperation and enhancing capacity on disaster risk management.

AADMER is a legally binding agreement on regional cooperation in the field of disaster management and emergency response.

The assistance will increase regional cooperation on trans-boundary risks, introduce high-level technology for regional cooperation on trans-boundary risks, and advance inter-regional cooperation through capacity building and knowledge exchange.

ADB said the region has some of the world’s most extensive trans-boundary disaster risk including droughts and floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, and tropical cyclones and storms along coastlines and islands.

“With the increasing levels of disaster risk, it is critical that the region strengthens its cooperation and capacity to enhance regional public goods and reduce the social and economic impacts from trans-boundary disasters and emergencies,” ADB said.

The third and current work program of AADMER seeks to enhance and support ASEAN’s disaster risk reduction and disaster management capabilities through five priority programs.

These are risk assessment and monitoring, prevention and mitigation, preparedness and response, resilient recovery and global leadership.

The sector involved is in public sector management, particularly public administration. The assistance targets environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth and regional integration.