Union minister Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar on Wednesday said disaster risk financing is an investment in safety, health and well-being of communities.

Speaking at the meeting of G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group in Mumbai, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare said the critical role of disaster risk financing can no longer be underscored in mitigating the effects of disasters and enhancing community resilience.

The minister said financing disaster risk reduction is an investment for the safety, health and well-being of our communities, the sustainability of our economies, and the preservation of our environment.

Governments, international organisations and the private sector need to collaborate and explore new ways to mobilise funding, an official release quoted the minister as saying.

The minister also spoke about the importance of pandemic management and its impact on public health. The Covid pandemic highlighted the need for emergency preparedness to be at the core of various development and finance policies, she said.

“We need to make sure that our healthcare systems are able to withstand the impact of future disasters”, she said.

During the technical sessions, the G20 countries discussed a roadmap for DRRWG for the next three years.

-With PTI Input