The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office has pledged an additional $10 million to the African Development Bank’s Africa Disaster Risk Financing (ADRiFi) program. The funding, amounting to £7.4 million ($9.63 million), will specifically support sovereign drought insurance protection in Somalia over the next three years. The announcement was made following discussions between UK officials and the African Development Bank at the COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai.
Highlighting the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia due to climate change, UK Minister of State for International Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell,
emphasized the importance of protecting vulnerable communities from the devastating effects of extreme weather. The funding aims to assist Somalia in better planning and preparing for the risk of drought, aligning with the UK’s commitment to building climate resilience across the continent.
The financial contribution will be directed to secure sovereign insurance against severe drought through the African Risk Capacity Group, a partner of the African Development Bank. This mechanism will enable swift payouts to the Somali government to support vulnerable communities in the event of a severe drought.
This funding supplements the UK’s broader commitment, totaling nearly £20 million ($25.3 million), to enhance disaster risk financing. The comprehensive approach includes reinforcing early warning systems and addressing climate-related crises.
The ADRiFi program focuses on building African countries’ capacity to respond to climate change-induced weather extremes such as cyclones, flooding, and drought. The contributions from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, and Norway through the ADRiFi Multi-Donor Trust Fund have subsidized participating countries’ insurance premium payments.
Dr. Beth Dunford, the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, expressed enthusiasm about expanding cooperation with the UK to address Africa’s climate change challenges. The funding will facilitate collaboration between the African Risk Capacity Group and Somalia’s government to develop contingency plans, a prerequisite for participating in the ADRiFi climate risk insurance pool.
Notably, Somalia, ranked as the world’s second most vulnerable country to climate change impacts by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative, has experienced numerous climate-related events since 1990. The recent drought from 2020 to 2022 alone resulted in substantial livestock losses, impacting pastoralist families who depend on livestock for sustenance and livelihoods.
Source: Africa Development Bank Group
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