The Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde becomes the 36th African Union member state to sign the ARC Treaty to effectively address the impacts of extreme weather events and disease outbreaks
On 13 July 2023, at the UN Office in Nairobi, Kenya, the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) signed the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Establishment Agreement (Treaty), becoming the 36th member state to do so, a significant step for both parties towards working together to effectively respond to the threats of climate-induced disaster events and disease outbreaks. The Treaty was signed by H.E. Miryan Djamila Sena Vieira, the country’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, following her meeting with Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, UN Assistant Secretary-General and ARC Group Director General on the margins of the 43rd Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council and the 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (MYCM) taking place from 13 – 16 July.
Due to its location and geography, driven by climate change, Cabo Verde is facing an increase in the occurrence and intensity of weather-induced events. Like many African countries, the country’s exposure to drought, tropical storms and flood risks amongst others is a significant threat to the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable populations as well as to the national economy and its efforts towards sustainable development. This requires pre-emptive disaster risk reduction strategies to improve the country’s preparedness and access to life-saving multi-hazard early-warning systems to enable an effective disaster response and ultimately strengthen its resilience. Over the years, the country has directed efforts towards a more comprehensive approach to disaster risk management, and signing the ARC Treaty is another step towards this.
As a Specialised Agency of the African Union, ARC is mandated to work with member states to help plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and disease outbreaks. The Group provides capacity building for climate risk management and early warning services to member states as part of its value proposition, bringing together four critical elements of preparedness: capacity building, early warning, risk pooling and risk transfer. Over the years, the organisation has diversified its product portfolio and offers solutions for drought, tropical cyclones, floods and outbreaks and epidemics.
In her official statement, the State Secretary, H.E. Miryan Djamila Sena Vieira, reiterated, “Cabo Verde is extremely exposed to the impacts of climate change and we are seeing this risk growing every year in the form of rising sea levels and either too much or too little rainfall. It is a threat to our people and to all the efforts that we have made towards developing our country. As a government, we continue to explore the best strategies to protect our island nation, and this step we have taken to sign the ARC Treaty allows us to do just that.”
The signing of the ARC Establishment Treaty will enable the Government of Cabo Verde to partner with ARC and gain access to the organisation’s tools and solutions in the country’s battle against clime change and disease outbreaks. ARC provides training support to participating governments’ personnel in preparation for their participation in future ARC insurance risk pools for drought, tropical cyclone, flood or outbreaks and epidemics.
The UN-ASG and ARC Group Director General, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong commended the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde for taking this important step towards strengthening the country’s resilience to climate threats. “We are excited to welcome the Republic of Cape Verde as ARC’s 36th member state. The signing of the ARC Establishment Treaty demonstrates a clear commitment to strengthening the country’s disaster risk reduction capacities. The country joins a growing number of AU Member States that are accessing our tools to complement existing country strategies.” He continued, “The ARC Group is ready to partner with the Government in accurately profiling their natural disaster risks and designing comprehensive response plans to better protect the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable populations in the event of a disaster”.
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About the African Risk Capacity (ARC)
African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group consists of ARC Agency and ARC Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd). ARC Agency was established in 2012 as a Specialised Agency of the African Union to help the member states improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to weather-related disasters. ARC Ltd, the financial affiliate of the Group, is a mutual insurance facility providing risk transfer services to the member states through risk pooling and access to reinsurance markets. ARC was established on the principle that investing in preparedness and early warning through an innovative financing approach is highly cost-effective. ARC assists the AU Member States in reducing the risk of loss and damage caused by extreme weather events affecting Africa’s populations by providing, through sovereign disaster risk insurance, targeted responses to natural disasters in a more timely, cost-effective, objective, and transparent manner.
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