On September 9, 2026, the World Bank Group and GFDRR, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) of Marshall Islands, facilitated a one-day Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) Workshop in Majuro to assess the country’s institutional readiness for emergency preparedness and response.
Featuring representatives from government agencies and development partners, workshop discussions underscored the country’s relatively strong legal and institutional framework for disaster management, supported by established coordination structures, including the National Disaster Council (NDC), National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), and National Emergency Operations Committee (NEOC). However, discussions also highlighted the fact that the existence of these institutional arrangements do not automatically translate into operational readiness. Priority areas for further investment include strengthening logistics and evacuation preparedness and enhancing information management and situational awareness systems. The World Bank and GFDRR have been supporting the country in addressing many of these gaps through the Republic of Marshall Islands Urban Resilience Project.
The workshop also provided an opportunity to simulate the activation and implementation of the Contingent Emergency Response Project (CERP) in Marshall Islands. CERP is one of the World Bank’s contingent financing mechanisms in the Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit (CPRT) which enables countries to gain rapid access to Bank financing to respond to a crisis or emergency. The simulation was indicative of the Marshall Islands government's ability to deploy the CERP to respond to complex emergencies which, in turn, is closely linked to the overall readiness of the national emergency preparedness and response system.
