Fund Resilience of Small Businesses, Not Extreme Urban Heat: Building Urban Protection and Inclusion Across India

Turning Global Commitments into Local Action

The 2025 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) reminds the world that investing in prevention saves lives, livelihoods, and resources. Under the global theme “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” nations are urged to allocate budgets and innovation toward proactive preparedness rather than reactive relief.

The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), a member of the Avoidable Death Network (AND), proudly celebrates this year’s IDDRR along with 200 small urban businesses across six Indian cities. This collaboration illustrates how inclusive financing, early warning, and low-cost adaptation measures can reduce heat exposure, prevent avoidable deaths, and transform daily risk into daily resilience.

AIDMI’s work builds on—and deeply appreciates—the constructive efforts of India’s national, state, and municipal authorities, especially the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), and city governments that are expanding heat-action planning, smart missions, and community-level partnerships.

 

Local Governments as Partners in Prevention

India’s evolving policy landscape reflects a strong national commitment to resilience.

• The National Action Plan on Heat-Related Illnesses (2023) offers a forward-looking framework that bridges health protection with DRR.
• Municipal corporations, such as the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), have shown leadership by integrating the needs of vulnerable groups.
• At the state level, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Bihar and Kerala have invested in expanding early-warning coverage and community-based preparedness.

AIDMI’s programmes complement these government initiatives by connecting public intent with community execution—ensuring that resilience funding reaches the people most at risk from rising urban heat.

 

Six Cities, One Vision: Investing in Resilient Small Businesses

Between 2023 and 2025, AIDMI worked with local bodies, civil-society groups, and businesses in eleven cities. To celebrate IDDRR – 200 small businesses from six cities – Ahmedabad, Rewa, Puri, Cochin, Kolkata, and Leh – join hands to transformed the IDDRR theme into practical local actions to plan and implement adaptation measures that build protection against climate extreme events, particularly extreme heat.

These small businesses – many operating in the informal economy that sustains nearly 40% of India’s GDP – identified extreme heat as their most pressing urban hazard. Here 200 businesses who identified extreme heat as their top hazard, and building their understanding on extreme heat early warning, possible cool solutions that low cost – cool roofs, shading, changing food habits and clothing and required behaviour. Based on so far journey, today 84% now feel much better prepared for the next heat season. These experiences confirm that funding the resilience of small businesses is the most effective way to reduce the human and economic toll of extreme urban heat.

 

Voices of Adaptation and Hope

“After my learning with facilitators and other small businesses, I use shade and drink more water. In the family, I am more conscious about our daily habits of food, clothing and daily routine. Now I am working safely even during heatwaves.”

— Bhavnaben Dantani, Fruit Seller, Ahmedabad

“We check the SACHET App for alerts and plan our work hours accordingly. These small changes make a big difference.”

— Jyotsanaben Kesariya, Children’s Items (toys and clothing) Seller, Ahmedabad

“The umbrella we bought keeps us safe and attracts customers who appreciate the shade.”

— Abid Ali, Garment Seller, Kolkata

“A small fan and umbrella have made my tea stall livable during long summer days.”

— Tsewang Dolma, Tea Seller, Leh

These testimonies highlight that reducing heat exposure saves both lives and livelihoods – each local adaptation step is a small but real contribution to preventing avoidable deaths from extreme heat.

 

Evidence that Investing in Small Business Resilience Pays

Across cities, AIDMI’s monitoring found that:

• Households reporting reduced heat-realted losses exceed 80%, showing the clear link between resilience investment and survival.
• Participants accessing early-warning systems increased by more than 60% aligning with NDMA’s Heat Action Plan targets.
• Families reporting fewer heat illnesses rose by nearly 60%.
• Women-led small businesses now represent over 55% of local adaptation initiatives, demonstrating progress in inclusion and localization of the Sendai Framework.

These numbers reinforce what the UNDRR advocates globally: resilience investments yield social, economic, and moral dividends. It is not just climate adaptation- it is life protection too.

 

Linking AIDMI’s Work with ADN’s Global Mission

AIDMI’s local results contribute directly to ADN’s objectives of preventing avoidable deaths by:

• Enhancing Early Warning Reach — Using mobile apps and municipal bulletins for timely alerts.
• Strengthening Risk Governance — Engaging city officials to integrate workers and businesses into disaster planning.
• Promoting Financial Access — Expanding microinsurance pilots like Afat Vimo and parametric heat-insurance models.
• Documenting Evidence for policy support — Feeding community data into policy dialogues at multiple levels, from sub-national and national levels.

AIDMI shares these lessons—showing that inclusive urban resilience is a cornerstone of the fight against avoidable deaths.

 

Appreciating Collective Efforts

AIDMI acknowledges the vision and collaboration of government agencies, humanitarian partners, and research institutions and networks—particularly UNDRR, NDMA, SDMAs and municipal corporations, networks—whose enabling environment made this work possible. Their openness to experiment with anticipatory actions, risk-informed planning, and livelihood protection demonstrates India’s constructive leadership in advancing the Sendai Framework.

 

Conclusion: A Culture of Care and Co-Creation

Extreme urban heat is no longer only a climate issue- it is a human survival and development issue. Journey from relief to resilience is already underway. From national ministries to municipal markets, every actor is learning that funding resilience is both economically wise and morally right.

AIDMI and ADN together created a case station in Ahmedabad– ACASA with focus on ‘risk reduction is everyone’s business’—from the government official drafting heat plans to the small business shading her stall.

This IDDRR 2025, AIDMI celebrates the collective progress made—and renews its commitment to deepen collaboration with governments, civil society, and networks to ensure that every community, however small, is protected, prepared, and empowered.

 

Cover photo: By All India Disaster Mitigation Institute