By Tatenda Mujeyi
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank and African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly enhance resilience and disaster risk financing initiatives that impact trade and supply chain across the continent.
The partnership augurs well with the quest for Africa to devise indigenous solutions to the problems.
“The purpose of this MOU is to enable joint member states to enhance disaster response and resiliency initiatives using available banking and insurance products suited for localized challenges.” The ARC press release said.
The intervention should address the perennial hunger challenges of Africa and better position her to meet the sustainable development goal one.
“The MoU’s primary intervention is to provide Food Emergency Contingent Financing Facility (FECONTRAF) to joint member countries that participate in African Risk Capacity’s sovereign/macro disaster risk transfer programme, national capacity building and food security policy development,” Prof Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said during the launch.
The partnership seeks to foster preparedness as a means to potentially support member states to be prepared for risk management.
“This new partnership with the African Risk Capacity Group will ensure we support member countries to be disaster aware, prepared and solutions oriented. In collaboration with the ARC, we aim to improve their capacities to better plan and respond to natural and man-made disasters that may hamper trade facilitation across the continent and make available the needed support to combat disasters when they strike,” United Nations Assistant Secretary General (ASG) and Group Director General of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group, Mr Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, said.
Resource availability has been a perennial challenge in the fight against risks and the partnership seeks guarantee of resources.
“The alignment of purpose between our two institutions for a food-secure and climate-resilient Africa is fundamental to this partnership.
Through providing holisitic solutions we will lessen the negative impacts of natural disasters on lives and livelihoods.
Therefore, our collaboration will help strengthen countries’ response systems by promoting the availability, accessibility, and affordability of critical resources for anticipatory climate action,” Mr Ibrahim also said.
Eradication of poverty, can best be achieved through reaching out to the availability of the most basic of needs which is an important effort of this partnership.
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