ADB Approves $56.4M Boost to Strengthen Disaster Response in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $56.4 million program to help Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan strengthen their disaster-response capabilities, a major step for two of Central Asia’s most disaster-prone countries.

Both nations face high risks from earthquakes, floods, and extreme weather events, yet their budgets and risk-transfer mechanisms remain limited, The Caspian Post informs via Uzbek media.

The newly approved initiative aims to change that by boosting financial readiness and creating faster, more reliable tools for emergency response.

The program combines two ADB instruments tailored to different levels of disaster risk:

Disaster-Contingent Financing (DCF): Provides budget support during medium-scale natural disasters or public health emergencies.

Disaster-Response Bonds (DRB): Issued on international capital markets to give countries rapid liquidity after severe disasters.

ADB Director General for Central and West Asia, Leah Gutierrez, said the program will help reduce the fiscal burden on countries after disasters by shifting from reactive spending to proactive disaster-risk financing, emphasizing resilience and long-term stability.

The initiative focuses on implementing strategic reforms, improving governance, and strengthening institutional capacity to ensure a coordinated and transparent disaster-risk management system.

Developed under ADB’s technical assistance on risk-transfer mechanisms for CAREC countries, the program will be funded through:

$53.1 million in grants from the Asian Development Fund (ADF)

$3.3 million in co-financing from the Asia-Pacific Climate Finance Fund

The ADF supports the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the region, helping hundreds of thousands of people transition out of poverty and creating nearly half a million jobs from 2021 to 2024.

Founded in 1966, ADB is one of the region’s leading multilateral development banks, working with 69 member countries to promote sustainable growth, build resilient infrastructure, and support climate-conscious development across Asia and the Pacific.