Strengthening risk-informed humanitarian shelter through DRR and environment integration: UNDRR–Global Shelter Cluster collaboration in Madagascar, Yemen and Nigeria

As disasters grow more frequent and severe, humanitarian shelter assistance must go beyond crisis response. Climate-related hazards are increasingly impacting vulnerable populations, whether in stable and strong governmental engagement with the international community like Madagascar, or in fragile and conflict-affected contexts such as Yemen and Nigeria, while funding remains insufficient.

In these different settings, shelter assistance remains life saving and critical but is too often reactive, with a short-term vision which results in the same communities to be exposed to repeated risks. Shelter is not just a roof overhead; it is the frontline of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), where choices about location, materials and design directly influence safety, dignity and survival. Rebuilding the same shelter after each hazard is inefficient, costly and undignified. As emphasized by the 2030 Global Shelter Cluster Strategy, the Shelter and Settlement sector must shift from reactive response to anticipatory action, with DRR as a fundamental enabler of that shift.

Since 2023, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Global Shelter Cluster have been working together to help break this cycle by strengthening the integration of DRR and environmental considerations in humanitarian shelter and settlements coordination and response. Key outputs include:

Global guidance on entry points for DRR in conflict and non-conflict shelter operations, including ecosystem-based DRR;
Environment and climate tip sheets for the 2025 Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC), to support needs assessment and response planning phases;
Technical support to shelter responses in Madagascar, Yemen and Nigeria.

Madagascar: Operationalizing DRR strategy for shelter

In Madagascar, where communities face recurring cyclone impacts, the national Shelter Cluster, with UNDRR support, established a national DRR Technical Working Group (DRR/TWIG) in 2024. This group was tasked with the development of a national DRR strategy for shelter, including:

Two complementary Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for preparedness and response;
A humanitarian action plan (2025-2030);
A light review of policies and data sources to identify gaps.

In early 2025, the SOP for response was pilot-tested in Atsimo Andrefana and Androy regions by Action Against Hunger (ACF), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Humanity & Inclusion (HI). The pilots confirmed the SOP value for structuring response and enhancing coordination, while also identifying needs for further adaptation (e.g. local language translation and community sensitization).

Yemen: Localised action to reduce flood risk

In Yemen, over 4 million people remain displaced, many living in informal sites on flood-prone terrain. In 2024 alone, flash-floods affected more than 100,000 households across 22 governorates, with 571 IDP sites facing high risk of flooding.

Working with UNHCR and Yemen Shelter/CCCM Cluster, and supported by UNDRR, Yemen Al-Khair for Relief and Development (YARD) led a set of community-driven flood mitigation initiatives, including:

Flood risk assessments in Sana'a, Ibb, Hajjah, Al-Jawf and Sa'ada;
Construction of a 2.5 km flood diversion channel, reinforced with bems, in Al-Mahzam Al-Sharqi (Al-Hazm District);
Installation of eco-DRR measures such as erosion-resistant barriers using local materials to protect shelters and redirect runoff;
Transitional shelter upgrades, hazard mapping and drainage maintenance;
Formation of community-based DRR committees for early warning and infrastructure maintenance.

This cost-efficient intervention directly reduce exposure for 2,800 displaced and host community members, combining technical design with strong local ownership. A second phase of support is continuing in 2025, expanding DRR integration and capacity building across additional high-risk sites.

Crucially, these interventions were locally led. In Yemen, women-led community groups designed flood protection that saved entire neighbourhoods. Local leadership not only reduces costs, it delivers faster, more durable results.

A simple drainage system or a protective wall can mean the difference between devastation and safety.

Yemen is facing a climate crisis, with floods, droughts, heatwaves and rising seas making life even harder for communities already affected by conflict

Nigeria: Building capacity for shelter resilience

In Nigeria, conflict and climate-related displacement continues to escalate, yet many humanitarian actors are forced to close or reduce operations due to funding cuts. In June 2025, UNDRR and the Global Shelter Cluster co-hosted a DRR Workshop to build national capacity for DRR in humanitarian shelter.

The event brought together 30 participants from the government, humanitarian and environmental sectors. It aimed to:

Strengthen technical understanding of DRR in shelter coordination;
Introduce and apply the Checklist on Scaling up DRR in Humanitarian Action;
Identify quick-win actions and co-develop longer-term solutions for DRR integration in planning.

This engagement represents a first step toward a contextualized roadmap for risk-informed shelter interventions in Nigeria's conflict- and climate-affected areas.

Looking ahead: From reactive to resilient

The UNDRR-Global Shelter Cluster partnership is leading a shift in humanitarian shelter practice: from reactive responses to risk-informed, forward-looking approaches. Preparedness and risk reduction are not optional - they are essential pillars of effective humanitarian shelter. Risk-informed shelter design is one of the most direct, immediate tools we have to reduce hazard impacts and protect communities in crisis.

By equipping national actors with tools, technical guidance and targeted in-country support, the initiative is helping shape shelter and settlement approaches that are safer, more inclusive and more sustainable. This reflects a broader shift across the sector: DRR is not an afterthought and must be integrated from the start of humanitarian responses.

Learn more about the UNDRR-GSC collaboration.