The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launch an inclusive Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF) project to scale up disaster risk finance and insurance solutions in Ghana.
The IRFF project being implemented by UNDP under Tripartite Agreement is in partnership with Insurance Development Forum (IDF), members of Allianz and Swiss Re, with technical support from HKV and service providers (ICEYE, FloodTags).
It is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development in Collaboration with InsuResilience Solutions Fund (ISF).
The project seeks to develop a parametric flood insurance cover, enable timely pay-out of disaster relief funds and build capacities of public assets and stakeholders.
At a workshop to launch the project in Accra on Tuesday, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Ghana, Mr Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov said the project would enhance authorities’ response and capacity to flood events, with a focus on the re-establishment of economic activity in poor and vulnerable communities.
He said disaster risks were on the increase and often compounded by the impacts of climate change and deficiencies in the frameworks of planning, financing, infrastructure development, and inter-sectoral coordination.
According to him, there was a huge protection gap in developing countries, where less than five per cent of disaster losses were covered by insurance, and 50 per cent in high-income countries.
“The protection gaps exist beyond disaster loss, financial exclusion, the absence of legislation for mutual and cooperative insurance in developing countries, and a wide range of demand and supply issues contribute to the disparity, and subsequently diminished resilience of most vulnerable communities,” he added.
Mr Khoshmukhamedov underscored the need to explore all means to bring about an environment where insurance and risk finance was accessible, affordable, and scalable for all to build the type of resilience necessary in the economy.
“The flood situation in Accra has exposed our vulnerability, and I believe insurance and risk finance is one of the tools available to us in supporting society to Build Back Better,” he stated.
The Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh, in a speech read for him said the government was doing its best to solve disaster issues in the country as it had undertaken some projects to prevent the menace.
“For NADMO, flood issues are of huge concern and it gives me great pleasure how this insurance project is going to help because we see it as an adaptation measure against climate change and we also see it as a disaster risk reduction measure,” he added.
Mr Agyemang-Prempeh assured NADMO’s full support in the implementation of the project to build a resilient nation.
The Head of Sustainability, Allianz S.E, Mr Hermann Rothert, said as a global insurer, “we can provide the expertise and capacity to develop solutions to address the most important risks from climate change.
Our engagement with the InsuResilience Global Partnership and the IDF is a key program that combines the key aspects of our climate and our social impact strategy by promoting for example climate and disaster risk.”
BY VIVIAN ARTHUR
