Antananarivo, Madagascar 8 July 2022 – Representatives from the African Risk Capacity Group and the African Development Bank presented a symbolic US$797,049 cheque to the Government of Madagascar following delayed rains during the 2021-2022 agricultural season, which resulted in drought conditions across the country, particularly in the Grand South.
The ARC payout is the result of drought insurance taken by the country under the African Development Bank’s flagship programme ADRiFi, which financed 50% of the 2021/2022 insurance premium for sovereign drought risk transfer for the Republic of Madagascar.
This payout will be specifically used to strengthen the resilience of part of the approximately 1,024,523 people affected by drought, according to the estimate of the Africa RiskView software, a tool used by ARC to estimate the number of people affected by disaster events and the associated response costs.
"I would like to thank the African Risk Capacity Group, the African Development Bank, the German government, as well as multi-donor partners such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom, who provided premium support to the Government of Madagascar to enable insurance uptake. Your support to ARC and to countries across the continent is crucial to enable us to sustain membership in this vital insurance mechanism,” said Mr Tahina Razafindramalo, Minister of Digital Development, Digital Transformation, Posts, and Telecommunications.
In his remarks, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director General of the ARC Group, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong said: “The payout made today not only supports vulnerable communities affected by drought, but also reaffirms the Government of Madagascar's commitment to protecting its people against climate-induced shocks by actively participating in the ARC’s insurance mechanism.”
“Madagascar is, unfortunately, one of the African countries hardest hit by the impact of climate change. However, the government’s foresight to take out drought insurance meant that we were able to work together to develop a pre-emptive contingency plan, detailing how the payout would be used. The swift release of funds means the most-affected communities can now be assisted as a matter of urgency,” said Lesley Ndlovu, CEO of ARC Limited, the insurance affiliate of the ARC Agency.
In establishing a framework for collaboration, ARC and the African Development Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2017 to support African states to manage disaster risks and to be better prepared to effectively respond to climate-related perils that seriously affect the continent. It is within this framework that the Bank provided financial support to the Government of Madagascar for the payment of its insurance premium over a period of 5 years (2019-2023) through the ADRiFi programme.
“This is the third insurance payout via the African Disaster Risk Financing Programme and ARC to the Government of Madagascar. The combined total of more than $13.5 million to boost the government’s ability to provide services that are keeping thousands of vulnerable people from food insecurity or migrating in search of food and work, demonstrates the Bank’s sustained commitment to building African nations’ resilience to climate change,” said Dr Beth Dunford, African Development Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.
Media Contacts
For the African Risk Capacity Group: Simon Pierre Diouf, Communications Officer, email: simonpierre.diouf@arc.int
For Madagascar: Mrs. Mbolatiana Andriamiarinosy, Government Coordinator for the ARC Programme, email: andriamiarinosy@yahoo.fr
For the African Development Bank: Alphonso Van Marsh, Principal Communications and Events Officer, email: avanmarsh@afdb.org
About the African Risk Capacity Group
The African Risk Capacity Group consists of ARC Agency and ARC Limited. ARC Agency was established in 2012 as a Specialized Agency of the African Union (AU) to help its Member States improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to climate-related disasters. ARC Ltd 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 and can save upward of four dollars for every dollar invested ex-ante approaches.
With the support of the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, France, the European Union, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the United States, 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. ARC is now using its expertise to help tackle some of the other most significant threats faced by the continent, including floods and outbreaks & epidemics.
Since 2014, 90 policies have been signed by the Member States for cumulative insurance coverage of US$900 million for the protection of 90 million vulnerable populations in participating countries.
For more information, please visit: www.arc.int
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