SANTIAGO, Chile, (CMC) – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched the “Ready and Resilient Americas,” a regional programme to make Latin America and the Caribbean more resilient to the disasters that harm its economies and quality of life.

The IDB said the programme will expand and enhance the bank’s work in this increasingly critical area.

It said Ready and Resilient Americas aims to build stronger regional collaboration to boost resilience, improve readiness, ensure swift and effective responses, and bolster financial protection against disasters. Building on this proactive approach, the IDB will also allocate $10 million in non-reimbursable financing to the programme between 2025 and 2030.

This is additional to the IDB’s own financing and technical cooperation.

Launched during the plenary session of the IDB and the IDB Invest Governors at the 2025 Annual Meetings, IDB President Ilan Goldfajn and Chilean Finance Minister Mario Marcel emphasized how the programme would be vital for better addressing the natural disasters affecting the region.

Chile is co-sponsoring the programme and has been key to initiate and promote this initiative. To date, 37 member countries have signed a declaration of commitment to this programme.

“Building resilience against natural disasters is no longer optional; it’s a necessity. The Ready and Resilient Americas initiative aims to strengthen disaster preparedness in our region by equipping countries with better data and tools, building a regional coordinated response and closing the financing gap by supporting resilience bonds and other risk-transfer tools,” said Goldfajn.

Marcel said following the devastating forest fires and floods that recently affected Chile and many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, “we came to the IDB with the conviction that disaster preparedness and resilience must be a priority.”

“We celebrate the launch of Ready and Resilient Americas, and we are proud to participate and actively contribute to this vital initiative for the region – a programme that comprehensively addresses management of natural disasters,” he added

Latin America and the Caribbean is the second-most disaster-prone region in the world. In 2024, it experienced 74 major disasters that affected nearly seven million people and caused an estimated US$10 billion in economic damage.

Ready and Resilient Americas is supported by 16 strategic partners from the private sector, non-governmental organisations, and international organisations. These partnerships can drive technological innovations, foster cooperation with the public sector to pre-position goods and services, and help co-design financial solutions that optimise costs and improve emergency readiness and response.