15 October 2014: The World Bank announced that Seychelles has become the first African country to gain access to the Bank’s contingency financing to help build resilience and better respond to natural disasters, such as cyclones, flooding and landslides. The financing will allow Seychelles to access a reserve of US$7 million in the aftermath of any natural disaster declared an emergency by the government.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide the three-year funding through a Development Policy Loan (DPL) with a Catastrophic Draw Down Option (Cat DDO) to facilitate a more stable macroeconomic environment in Seychelles. The financing can be renewed for up to 15 years. The DPL with Cat DDO complements other World Bank support for social protection, fisheries development and private sector development in the country.

Pierre Laporte, Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Trade and Investment, explained that the DPL with Cat DDO will provide the country with immediate liquidity whenever cumulative or medium-sized disasters hit. “As a result,” he said, Seychelles “can avoid diverting funds originally set aside for development projects and attend to the needs of our country’s poorest.”

Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, the World Bank’s senior director for the social, urban, rural and resilience global practice, said the financing access “adds yet another vital component to the country’s risk reduction policies” and will help Seychelles to strengthen its disaster risk management (DRM), respond to disaster and improve its citizens’ lives.

In order to qualify for the DPL with Cat DDO, a country must have a functioning hazard management program in place. In addition to financing, the loan supports strengthening legal frameworks for DRM and integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) into decision-making and development planning.

Seychelles recently approved a DRM Act, a DRM policy and a risk information database. [World Bank Press Release]