The United Nations Development Programme has recently announced an insurance programme for the developing nations to help them during disasters or potential crises, media reports said. The insurance programme will cover socio-economic, climate and health-related disasters.
Explaining the thought process behind the new programme, the United Nations Development Programme said that disaster recovery costs the world’s 77 poorest countries an average of $29 billion annually, which is just 3 percent of which is insured.
The programme will be available to 50 developing nations across the globe by 2025, the United Nations Development Programme said in a statement. The Insurance and Risk Finance Facility is backed by $41 million from the German government, it further added.
Last year, 980 disasters caused by natural hazards were recorded, which cost the global economy over $210 billion. Also, around 150 million people worldwide were been pushed back into poverty due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) told the media, “Building the financial resilience of countries and communities is a critical element of tackling climate change and safeguarding past and future development gains. Germany is strongly committed to the InsuResilience Global Partnership to enhance protection from climate impacts.”
“The global community made a commitment at the UN Climate Summit in 2019, and all of us – governments, industry, the development sector – need to step up our work to enable climate-proof development.”