The African Risk Capacity (ARC), an agency of the African Union, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) have announced a new partnership to improve resilience in African states through increasing insurance protection against climate risks.
In the partnership, ARC and ECA plan to embed risk management investments into government planning through policy development to build the capacity of their 33 common Member States.
The deal was announced at the African Union’s Annual Summit in Addis Ababa.
“This partnership marks a bold new phase of heightened collaboration on combatting the effects of climate change in Africa,” said Mohamed Beavogui, Director-General of ARC Agency.
“The future of disaster risk management is an increasingly urgent economic issue, and ECA’s unique expertise will complement ARC’s work serving its Member States and building preparedness and resilience on the continent,” he said.
The two entities will also share expertise and provide financial resources for joint economic and climate risk research to promote risk transfer instruments for a continent which, according to the UN, will see the adaptation costs of climate change rise to $50 billion per year by 2050.
ECA Executive Secretary Vera Songwe, said; “climate change is one of the biggest threats to Africa’s economic and social development. We believe that efforts like our partnership with ARC will help move the needle, so that African countries can be well-guarded against these threats, and they can thrive.”
In four years so far, ARC has paid out more than $34 million to Member States affected by drought events, helping over two million people affected by climate disaster.
