Navigating Numbers and Natural Disasters: Muryelle Rabemananjara's insights into Madagascar’s preparedness for climate shocks
In Madagascar, a nation frequently hit by tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts, securing financial resilience is an urgent priority. Muryelle Rabemananjara (Head of Department, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Madagascar, who is in charge of supervising the World Bank portfolio), has been at the forefront of these efforts, applying her analytical skills to strengthen the country's disaster risk financing (DRF) strategy.
Originally drawn to mathematics with aspirations of becoming an aeronautical engineer, Muryelle’s career took a different path when she passed the competitive examination for Treasury inspectors. This led her into public finance, where she became heavily involved in managing Madagascar’s external debt and development financing. Her expertise in monitoring projects eventually exposed her to the challenges of financing disaster response, setting her on a mission to enhance Madagascar’s preparedness for climate and economic shocks.
In this conversation, she shares her insights into Madagascar’s evolving DRF landscape, the role of financial instruments in mitigating disaster impacts, and the importance of ensuring that aid reaches those who need it most.
Can you tell us about your professional journey and what motivated you to work in DRF?
My first role in public finance was in the Directorate in charge of public debt, where I was responsible for monitoring development projects funded by external sources, including transport, energy, and governance initiatives. Over time, I became increasingly involved in financing mechanisms that help the government respond to shocks, such as the World Bank’s Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) and the Mécanismes de Réponses Immédiates (MRI). My department played a crucial role in triggering these funds and ensuring rapid disbursement during crises. This experience, along with my personal research on official development assistance, led me to focus on DRF, recognizing its significance in protecting public investments and ensuring long-term development gains.
As someone responsible for monitoring external financing, I have become conscious of the necessity to ensure sustainability of public investments. Madagascar, like many developing nations, relies heavily on grants and loans, which means we are borrowing against the future. It is our responsibility to ensure that these investments are protected against climate-related shocks. A particularly striking moment for me was visiting a rural road in the Vakinakaratra Region that had been rehabilitated through a World Bank-supported project. Within a year, heavy rains had washed it away, making it unusable once again. This made me realize how climate hazards could erase years of investment and progress in just one season. Given Madagascar’s vulnerability to cyclones, floods, and droughts, we must secure mechanisms that allow us to respond effectively and protect public and private assets. This is what drives my work in DRF—ensuring that financing mechanisms are in place to help communities withstand and recover from shocks.
How has Madagascar’s approach to DRF evolved over time and what are the key priorities?
Over the past decade, Madagascar has developed and diversified its DRF instruments. Initially, the government relied heavily on budgetary reallocations, but this was not sustainable given the scale of disasters we face. In 2017, the country began utilizing contingent financing from the World Bank, such as the MRI, which was triggered after Cyclone Enawo. Other instruments followed, including the Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO) and the CERC, which was activated during Cyclone Batsirai. Additionally, Madagascar joined the African Risk Capacity (ARC) insurance program to manage cyclonic and drought risks, which resulted in indemnities during major disaster events in 2022 and 2023. More recently, the government established the National Contingency Fund (FNC) in 2023 to provide a sustainable mechanism for disaster response financing. The challenge now is to ensure its long-term viability, particularly in covering insurance premiums and securing dedicated budget allocations for disaster response.
The country’s DRF strategy identifies five major priorities: promoting and implementing financing mechanisms for multi-hazard risk reduction and climate adaptation, improving the speed and efficiency of disaster response funding, strengthening governance and coordination across sectors to enhance resilience and recovery, ensuring that risk financing considers community-level and gender-specific needs, and increasing the involvement of local authorities in financing mechanisms to strengthen decentralized resilience efforts. These priorities aim to create a more responsive and sustainable system for managing disaster risks and ensuring that financial resources are effectively mobilized when disasters strike.
What are the regulatory reforms being undertaken to strengthen DRF?
Several regulatory reforms have been introduced as part of Madagascar’s national disaster management strategy and commitments under the International Monetary Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). These reforms focus on strengthening climate policy governance by expanding the mandate of the Interministerial Committee for the Environment (CIME), enhancing public investment management by integrating climate resilience criteria into project selection, implementing climate budget tagging to track and prioritize climate adaptation and mitigation expenditures, and updating the insurance code to facilitate risk transfer to international insurers, enabling better access to parametric insurance solutions.
What lessons have been learned from recent cyclones such as Freddy and Batsirai?
Madagascar has made significant progress in mobilizing financial resources for disaster response, but challenges remain in disbursing funds efficiently. After Cyclone Batsirai, for example, CERC funding, ARC payouts, and government resources were used for response and recovery efforts, including food distribution and infrastructure rehabilitation. However, delays in administrative procedures slowed down the disbursement of financial aid, particularly for insurance payouts, which took over a year to reach affected communities. This highlights the need for more streamlined mechanisms to ensure that funds reach vulnerable populations in a timely manner.
How will Madagascar’s participation in the Regional Emergency Preparedness & Access to Inclusive Recovery (REPAIR) program enhance its DRF approach?
The REPAIR program offers a unique blend of financial instruments, including reserves, contingent financing, and sovereign insurance, which will complement Madagascar’s existing DRF mechanisms. One of the key benefits of REPAIR is that it will improve the coordination between financial instruments and response mechanisms, ensuring that funds are mobilized efficiently. Additionally, the program will provide technical support to strengthen financial planning, helping Madagascar build a more resilient disaster response system.
What support does Madagascar still need from development partners, and what measures are being taken to ensure financial aid reaches disaster-affected communities quickly and efficiently?
Madagascar requires further support in diversifying funding sources, particularly by engaging the private sector in risk financing, establishing climate-resilient infrastructure standards for both public and private investments, and enhancing access to green climate funds to support long-term adaptation efforts. To improve financial aid delivery, several initiatives are underway, including establishing a one-stop coordination mechanism for disaster financing to streamline administrative processes, developing a single social registry to prioritize assistance based on vulnerability criteria, and exploring microfinance and micro-insurance solutions to support affected households directly. These measures aim to ensure that aid is not only timely but also effectively targeted.
What message would you share with women working in DRF?
Women play a crucial role in disaster risk management, both at the community level and in policymaking. My message is simple: the best time to act is now. Whether through policy development or small household actions, we can all contribute to building resilience. Every step, no matter how small, has the potential to make a lasting impact.
