KATOWICE, Poland--German government-owned development bank KfW has made the single largest donation to the Central America and Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Programme (CACCRIP) that will help regional countries access more affordable coverage.
The World Bank said it signed an agreement with KfW on Wednesday, December 12, for a 15 million euro (US $17 million) contribution from Germany to be executed under the CACCRIP.
The new funding will be used to continue improving the affordability of high-quality sovereign catastrophic risk transfer associated with earthquakes and climate risks for the Council of Ministers of Finance of Central America and the Dominican Republic COSEFIN countries participating in CCRIF SPC, a multi-country risk pool.
It will also be used to enhance the capacity of the Ministries of Finance to develop and implement disaster risk financing and insurance strategies. The CACCRIP also supports activities in Caribbean Community CARICOM countries with similar objectives.
“This initiative is part of a broader engagement where we are working with countries in the Caribbean and Central America to develop cost-effective, affordable and sustainable disaster risk financing and insurance strategies,” said Jorge Familiar, Regional Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“With climate change, we can expect more frequent and intensive weather events and hurricanes. This calls for countries to build resilience from a 360-degree perspective, from disaster preparedness to physical and financial resilience.”
The contribution was announced jointly by Frank Fass-Metz, Commissioner for Climate Policy and Climate Finance of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development; André Ahlert, KfW’s Director, Latin America and the Caribbean; and John Roome, World Bank’s Senior Director of Climate Change.
At a formal signing event, participants welcomed the initiative and renewed efforts from donors and the international community to address increasing global climate and disaster risks. ~ Caribbean360 ~
