APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group has announced that it is launching a new insurance mechanism for African countries to cope with the devastating effects of flooding.
“This parametric insurance product will provide countries with predictable and rapid financing for early response to cope with emergency disaster events caused by floods,” the African Union said on Wednesday in a statement.
Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, ARC Group Director-General stated was quoted as saying that the mechanism is set to serve as a significant milestone in building resilience to climate-related disasters on the African continent and in complementing the ARC solutions.
“The number of flood events in Africa has increased significantly, including in many major urban centers and coastal areas. These have resulted in numerous deaths and the displacement of millions of people and caused significant damage to property and farmlands worth billions of US dollars,” Diong said.
Unfortunately, because of climate change, the occurrence of floods in ARC Member States has become more frequent and increased in intensity in recent decades, he said
According to the director general, member States have expressed a strong interest in the development and delivery of a flood insurance product to help countries respond timely to flood disasters.
“Although some regional and national flood early warning initiatives exist, there is no operational system going up to estimate economic losses to underpin a sovereign insurance scheme,” he added.
MG/as/APA