Improving resilience and responding to disaster

Developing countries are often especially vulnerable to natural disasters. New Zealand plays a particularly important role in disaster preparation and response in the Pacific.

The physical infrastructure such as roading and housing may not be robust so can be badly affected when disasters do strike, and they may lack the financial resources needed for recovery efforts. New Zealand plays a particularly important role in disaster preparation and response in our own region of the Pacific.

The New Zealand Aid Programme is improving resilience and disaster response in the following areas.

• Preparing for natural disasters - improving countries' resilience to disasters and emergencies, particularly in vulnerable small island states in the Pacific.
• Climate change - investing in climate change adaptation and mitigation particularly in small island states in the Pacific, and building their scientific, policy making, and negotiating capability to allow them to participate fully in climate change negotiations.
• Humanitarian responses - providing support when disasters and emergencies do occur.

For more information about how New Zealand responds to emergencies in developing countries, see the Emergencies in developing countries section.

Read about how you can help in an emergency.

New Zealand Guiding Principles for Humanitarian Assistance in the Pacific [PDF 495KB]

Also see the New Zealand Aid Programmes Policy and Strategies for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Risk Reduction [PDF 600KB].