The World Food Programme (WFP) has been piloting drought insurance in Ethiopia. A WFP spokesperson suggests that OECD countries help poor countries adapt to climate change by paying for some of the insurance premiums. Could this also cover post-disaster rehabilitation of water and sanitation systems?
A related initiative the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) has also been piloted in Ethiopia. The PSNP “targets people facing predictable food insecurity and offers guaranteed employment for five days a month [in public works programmes which can include construction of drinking water systems] in return for transfers of either food or cash – US$4 per month for each household member” (IRIN, 5 Dec 2007). The focus is now more on cash payments, than previous food-for-work programmes. Public Works Programmes have been used in many countries, for example in South Africa’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and in ILO’s Special Public Works Programme (SPWP) in the 1980s
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NEW YORK, 14 December 2007 (IRIN) – The World Food Programme (WFP) is expanding “the first humanitarian insurance policy” in Ethiopia. Officials are hoping to raise US$230 million in insurance and contingency funds to cover 6.7 million people if there is a drought comparable to the one in 2002/2003.
In 2006, WFP partnered with French firm Axa Re to pilot a programme to provide cash payouts to farmers in the event of a severe drought. Now, they are working with the Ethiopian government to expand the programme for three years from 2009
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Index-based risk financing heralds a new way that donors are looking at helping the poor cope with extreme weather conditions and natural disasters.
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“The OECD countries, rich countries, are responsible for the climate change. Now OECD countries have to help the poor countries adapt to climate change. Why not pay for some of the insurance premiums that would help them adapt to climate change?” Ulrich Hess, chief of business risk planning for WFP.
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In September, Swiss Re partnered with Millennium Promise, an NGO working on rural poverty in Africa, and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society to launch the Climate Adaptation Development Programme. This is designed to provide financial protection against drought conditions for up to 400,000 people in 10 African countries.
Source: IRIN
