17.12.2018

Second InsuResilience Global Partnership Forum in Katowice – Paving the way to effective risk financing solutions

Katowice, 10/12/2018 – In December, the InsuResilience Global Partnership Forum brought together representatives from governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia from all across the globe for the second time.

Next door to the United Nation’s Climate Conference (COP24), the annual meeting of the Partnership offered its members the opportunity to get to know each other in person to exchange experience and knowledge. In the spirit of COP24, the second Partnership Forum focused on lessons learned from country cases and therefore explored successful ways to promote climate and disaster risk finance and insurance solutions that are fit for purpose.

150 participants took part in the exciting sessions and interactive discussions. Dr. Astrid Zwick, Head of InsuResilience Secretariat, and Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, Global Director, Sustainable Finance Center, WRI, opened the event with inspiring keynotes, pointing out the relevance of the Global Partnership in empowering governments, businesses and households to become more proactive risk managers: “Without building capabilities and enabling access to products and finance, empowerment is not possible,” said Astrid Zwick.

Representatives from ARC and ICMIF underlined that statement in the following moderated interview and took stock of how we can improve the affordability and uptake of disaster risk financing products. For Dr. Aris Alip, Chair of ICMIF, microinsurance is a key to make insurance accessible for the poor and vulnerable: “Our model is low cost because we are mutual and 100% member-owned”.

Hon. Brenson S. Wase, Minister of Finance of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, addressed the Forum in their function as Co-Chairs of the Partnership’s High-Level Consultative Group. They pointed out the importance of the Partnership: “Meeting the goal of closing the protection gap and increasing the resilience of poor and vulnerable people against climate and disaster risks calls for strong partnerships and new ways of working together. The Global Partnership can do this because it brings together all relevant stakeholders with a common vision,” Dr. Maria Flachsbarth together with Hon. Brenson S. Wase stated and welcomed the new members of the InsuResilience Global Partnership.

The second Partnership Forum did not only give an outlook on future goals and objectives but also showcased first results: The working groups on “Pro-poor principles and M&E”, “Data as a public good” and ”Integrated resilience approaches” presented their activities. A panel discussion on lessons learned from existing schemes took a closer look at implementation and practical action on the ground. Fabio Bedini from WFP, Sunya Orre from Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority, Medhin Mekonnen from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation in Ethiopia and Sucharita Mukherjee from kaleidofin India shared their insights into existing successful schemes in their countries.

An interactive Question & Answer session with members of the Program Alliance gave the participants of the Forum the chance to ask questions directly to the consortium of World Bank, KfW Development Bank, the Centre for Global Disaster Protection and BMZ. Philipp Knill of BMZ provided an outlook on the Partnership’s way forward: “The priority for 2019 is to drive forward country-level work and solution implementation. It is increasing its focus on knowledge exchange and working together – and engaging significantly with V20 countries, developing countries, vulnerable countries, civil society, and the private sector.”

The heart of the Forum was its breakout sessions to discuss practical approaches and concrete solutions for poor and vulnerable people. Country representatives from Sri Lanka, Zambia, Pakistan, Colombia, and West Africa gave insights into their countries’ strategy on climate and disaster risk finance and insurance and presented their lessons learned. Alongside these concrete examples, the participants identified new potentials for their strategy and ways for the Partnership to better support its partner countries.

Indeed, a highlight at the end of a full day was the celebration of the winners of the InsuResilience-A2R contest on absorbing climate impacts. An international jury of seven judges chose ClimateRe to be awarded for their proposal on enhancing climate resilience on smallholder rice farmers in Nepal. Juna Shrestha from ClimateRe explained the organizations approach in a vivid Pecha Kucha presentation. The popular choice winner of the contest is the Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT). Rajeswari Gorana showcased on stage how MHT supports poor slum women in India investing in resilience through savings with microinsurance (further information on the contest here).

After a long and intensive day, all participants were invited to the evening reception to continue their exchange over drinks and food – an opportunity most participants did not want to miss. We are intrigued to follow-up on the great exchange and are looking forward to the next get together!

 

The InsuResilience Secretariat will compile a summary report of the Forum including results of all breakout sessions to be shared shortly.