高考英语的 2016年江苏卷的一句话：

This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction. 

不理解 This is despite evidence that ... 是什么句式？

如果不看 despite evidence，那不成了 This is that...？

请专家老师分析一下这个句子，同时也麻烦翻译一下，谢谢！

原文上下文如下：

The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21, 000 people and caused damage worth ＄36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.