When the G20 summit convenes in South Africa next month, the world’s leaders will gather under the theme of “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”. These are powerful ideals, yet they cannot be realised without tackling one of the most pressing global challenges of our time, the rising cost and frequency of disasters.
Over the past 50 years, the global economic toll of disasters has nearly tripled. Whether we are private or public sector leaders, the current global context is challenging us all. We are expected to anticipate better, respond faster, and deliver with precision. Disasters are happening more often, which means they are costing more. Available data indicates that annual disaster costs grew to $180bn–$200bn (R3.1-trillion to R3.45-trillion) between 2001 and 2020, up from $70bn–$80bn from the two previous decades (1980-2000).
The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction confirms that global disaster losses have intensified in recent years, exceeding $2-trillion a year when accounting for cascading and ecosystem costs. These figures are not just statistics; they represent lives disrupted, livelihoods lost and futures deferred.
This escalation in disasters — from floods and fires to droughts and storms — reflects an increasingly volatile risk landscape. Higher costs mean greater pressure on governments, communities and businesses, as well as on insurers who provide the financial mechanisms that help societies recover. For South Africa, as in many developing economies, the challenge is amplified by infrastructure weaknesses and socioeconomic disparities that leave communities more vulnerable when disaster strikes.
This is why disaster risk reduction must become a focal point in global economic dialogue. It requires co-ordinated international action — through knowledge sharing, technology transfer and capacity building — to ensure that developing and least-developed countries are not left behind. South Africa has long supported this approach, and the private sector has a critical role to play in making it tangible.
For Santam, resilience building is both a business imperative and a societal commitment. In 2012, answering a government call for stronger municipal capacity, we established the Partnership for Risk and Resilience (P4RR). The objective was clear: to strengthen disaster risk management within municipalities through collaboration with the government, state-owned entities, academia and community-based organisations.
Since then, P4RR has supported 102 municipalities across South Africa, touching the lives of more than 24-million people. The programme has provided training in disaster management and firefighting to more than 1,000 individuals, reached more than 100,000 citizens through disaster awareness education, and supported targeted interventions such as flood defence, fire services enhancement and stormwater maintenance — including a pilot that cleaned more than 1,000 indicated stormwater catchpits in Tshwane over a 16-month period.
We have also worked with the South African Weather Service to strengthen early-warning capabilities by installing four automatic weather stations in rural areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. These provide real-time weather data and help communities respond more quickly to extreme weather events.
Thirteen years on, the success of P4RR has shown that partnerships between the public and private sectors can create a measurable impact. Building on these lessons, Santam will soon launch a similar initiative in Namibia, with the long-term goal of extending this model to other regions. Because resilience cannot be confined within national borders — risk does not respect geography, and neither should our response.
Globally, there are promising examples of co-operation that echo this approach. The InsuResilience Global Partnership (IGP), launched during Germany’s G7 presidency and formally established at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) in 2017, brings together governments, the private sector and civil society to scale up climate and disaster risk finance solutions. Its mission — to protect 500-million vulnerable people against climate and disaster risks by 2025 — reflects exactly the kind of ambition the G20 should now champion.
South Africa’s experience with P4RR demonstrates what can be achieved when resilience is viewed as a shared investment rather than a cost. The same principle applies globally: every dollar spent on prevention and preparedness saves many more in response and recovery. But more than that, it protects development gains and safeguards human dignity.
After all, resilience is not built in boardrooms or at summits; it is built in communities. It is built through the protection of livelihoods, the reinforcement of infrastructure, and the creation of systems that allow people to recover from shocks stronger than before. The private sector has an essential role to play in this journey, but the task is collective.
If the G20 can place disaster risk and resilience at the heart of its agenda, it will not only strengthen the world’s capacity to withstand crises, it will also help secure a safer, more equitable and sustainable future for all.
*Madzinga is Santam Group CEO
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