Start Network: Prepared to protect with fast financing

According to the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index, Bangladesh ranks seventh in the world with respect to vulnerability to climate change. From 2014 to 2020, 15 major climate-related disasters in Bangladesh affected a total of 42 million people, displaced 9.4 million people, fully or partially damaged 4.6 million houses, killed 1 053 people and resulted in an estimated economic loss of USD 4.1 billion. Floods alone affected nearly 35 million people, making it by far the most widespread disaster risk, while cyclones and storm surges affected more than 7 million people in the same period.

Meanwhile, international funding for humanitarian assistance is not keeping pace with global needs. With an expected shortfall of USD 41 billion in 2023 according to UN estimates released in July 2023, it’s imperative that the sector find new ways to make scarce funding go further.

Start Ready an innovative programme that applies tried-and-tested techniques and approaches from the insurance industry to humanitarian action. By pooling funds, analysing probabilities and utilising reinsurance, Start Network scales humanitarian interventions to protect more people with less money. Advance planning enables rapid release of funding when it’s needed most.

In September 2022, the Swiss Re Foundation began supporting the development of Start Ready’s disaster risk financing system in the Philippines.  With this second grant, Start Network will support the development and enhancement of the Start Ready financial mechanism in Bangladesh. This includes creating and continuously refining an innovative risk model that can forecast and predict the impacts of oncoming cyclones and floods as well as working with a group of local humanitarian organisations to plan actions that will protect communities before and immediately after a crisis.

In this project, Start Network will protect communities from disasters before they happen, using rigorous planning and robust risk modeling to identify and mitigate risks with the following key goals:

1. Scale disaster risk financing systems to cover at-risk people and communities in Bangladesh from floods and cyclones.
2. In case of flood or cyclone in the covered areas of Bangladesh, rapidly release financing through the Start Ready financial mechanism to catalyse community preparedness plans and mitigate harm.
3. Grow and develop the Start Ready financial infrastructure to increase its efficiency and cover more people at risk of climate crises globally.

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