Guatemala decided to strengthen its response capacity with the help of a Development Policy Loan (DPL) with a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO), a form of contingent financing offered by the World Bank that provides countries with access to immediate liquidity at cost-effective levels following the declaration of a natural disaster. To qualify for the Cat
DDO, Guatemala had to have an adequate macroeconomic framework in place and its disaster risk management program will be periodically reviewed by the World Bank. In April 2009, Guatemala requested and received a US$85 million Development Policy Loan (DPL) with a Cat DDO.