A new consortium of international development agencies has formed with the aim of improving the knowledge of African governments, the private sector, and the international community regarding the disaster risk insurance market in Africa.
The group consists of the United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), the African Risk Capacity (ARC), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Association of African Insurance Supervisors (AAISA).
By undertaking activities such as training workshops, the agencies aim to help improve the financial planning that is necessary to protect vulnerable populations against climate shocks, disasters and other crises.
Access to index and disaster risk insurance products, for example, can help protect agribusinesses, farmers, and other low-income populations against environmental risks such as drought, floods, irregular rainfall, natural disasters and other effects of climate change, the consortium noted.
“Capacity building is key to our efforts in working with Member States,” UN-ASG and Director-General, ARC, Mohamed Beavogui.
“ARC and its partners work with Member States to provide development insurance instruments by determining risk profiles, customization of its tools, and development of a contingency plan that fits into a country’s broader risk management framework,” he explained. “This helps to strengthen resilience and protect development gains from being wiped away by weather-related risks.”
Faheen Allibhoy, IFC Country Manager for Senegal, also commented: “The World Bank Group is committed to working with the African Union and UNECA to create new, sustainable agricultural and disaster risk insurance markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Working together, we can achieve greater combined results that contribute to the development goals of all three institutions.”
The first of the activities run by the consortium will be a training workshop in Dakar, sponsored by UNECA’s training institute, the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP)
Participants will include representatives of ministries of agriculture and finance, insurance regulators, and re/insurance companies offering index and disaster risk insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa, from Chad, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritania, Guinea, Niger, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
