Rebuilding infrastructure after natural disasters must go beyond restoring damaged assets and instead strengthen resilience, reduce future risks and support long-term development goals, according to a new OECD report.
Building on the OECD’s Prevent-React-Rebuild (PRR) framework and aligned with the United Nations’ Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the OECD and World Bank 2026 Compendium of Good Practices on Quality Infrastructure report argues that “Building Back Better” (BBB) is not optional but a necessary condition for sustainable development, particularly in developing countries.
Natural disasters caused on average 32% more economic damage in 2015-2024 than in the previous decade, according to data from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. Developing countries are disproportionately affected: disaster-related losses amounted to around 6% of GDP in Small Island Developing States and 2% in least developed countries, compared with 0.3% in OECD countries.
The Compendium focuses on competitiveness-related infrastructure, which includes transport, energy and telecommunications, and is defined as assets, facilities and systems that have a direct effect on the economic performance and competitive capabilities of a given location. Decisions taken during reconstruction influence productivity, trade integration and social inclusion for generations. The report highlights that rebuilding should increase resilience to anticipated shocks, align with long-term development strategies and embed equity and inclusion from the outset.
More resilient infrastructure can entail higher upfront costs, but it delivers greater long-term value. For instance, strengthening infrastructure design can significantly reduce damage probability while increasing construction costs only moderately. By contrast, failing to integrate resilience considerations can result in higher life-cycle costs, repeated disruptions and growing fiscal pressures.
Drawing on seven case studies from Africa, Asia and Latin America, the report identifies three critical enablers to Build Back Better:
People-centred rebuilding. Reconstruction should be conceived as a development programme rather than a narrow asset-repair exercise. Community engagement, participatory risk assessments and capacity building are central to ensuring that rebuilding reduces inequalities and reflects local aspirations.
Targeted and predictable financing. BBB requires financing mechanisms that extend beyond emergency response. Official development assistance for short-term emergency measures was 70% higher than funding for long-term infrastructure investment between 2020 and 2023, according to OECD data. Bridging this gap is essential to prevent resilience objectives from being sidelined. Development finance institutions and national development banks play a key role in mobilising long-term capital and crowding in private investment.
Strong governance frameworks. Effective rebuilding requires clear institutional mandates, updated regulatory standards and coordination across levels of government. Embedding resilience into infrastructure planning and disaster risk management systems is critical to ensure transparency, accountability and investor confidence.
With disaster risks intensifying and infrastructure gaps remaining wide in many developing economies, forward-looking rebuilding is both a resilience strategy and an economic development imperative.
The Compendium was produced by the OECD Development Centre in collaboration with the World Bank, and financial support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan.