The Government of Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Risk Capacity (ARC) as part of a collaborative effort to address the impact of extreme weather events in Nigeria.
The MoU was signed during the 2018 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Busan, South Korea, and the arrangement is expected to include training support for Nigerian government personnel.
The announcement follows President of the AfDB Akinwumi Adesina’s pledge to support ARC’s work, and who called for more stakeholders to join ARC and ensure the availability of insurance against natural disaster risks.
The AfDB and ARC partnered in March 2017 to build resilience against climate shocks by enhancing risk management infrastructure and policy across Africa.
Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s Minister for Finance, commended ARC’s innovative approach to climate risk financing and management in Africa, and asserted that the new partnership would address the impact of extreme weather events in Nigeria.
Nigeria signed the ARC Establishment Agreement in December 2014 to formally become a member of the institution, and recently extended its agreement with the AfDB on the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF) for an additional 10 years to support the development efforts of low-income member countries.
“The leadership role of Nigeria in the continent and in the establishment of the ARC makes the signing of a formal MoU quite momentous for our work in the region,” said Mohamed Beavogui, Director-General of ARC.
He continued: “We want to create systems that can truly protect the livelihoods of the most vulnerable and safeguard the significant development gains made by the country over the years.”
ARC was established in 2012 as a Specialised Agency of the African Union (AU), and provides African governments with innovative risk management and risk transfer tools and services with the aim of developing a comprehensive pan-African disaster response system.
