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The Horn of Africa (HoA), one of the world's poorest and most fragile regions, faces severe drought. The region is home to about 50 million pastoralists, who are extremely poor. Pastoralism and livestock production are the primary livelihoods in the HoA, accounting for over one-third of agricultural GDP in most countries and around 80% in Djibouti and Somalia. During droughts, livestock either perish or are sold at extremely low prices. The World Bank’s De-risking, Inclusion and Value...
Chipo Msowoya (Senior Social Protection Specialist, World Bank) remembers the day, several years ago, when he visited the district of Ntcheu in Malawi. “The project team was chased and stoned. People in the community were furious that the level of drought emergency support was so low. Their actions reflected the sheer scale of desperation in the area,” recounts Chipo. Fast forward a few years, the very same community thanked us for changing their lives. This really shows the impact of scalable...
Global studies have shown that disasters – in general – often affect women harder than men. At a recent webinar on “Women in Risk Finance," I had the privilege of listening to accomplished women leaders share their perspectives and experiences on financial resilience in the face of natural disasters and how gender plays a critical role in a country’s climate and disaster risk finance (DRF) plans. Even after years of significant economic and social progress, women continue to face barriers in...
In just four days in February, 200 avalanches hit the mountain regions of Tajikistan, sweeping away houses, rendering critical roads impassable, and killing 19 people. These kinds of disasters are nothing new to Central Asia. Over the past two decades, the region lost over $1.5 billion to natural disasters, affecting over 2.5 million people. A major flood—say, one with a one percent probability of occurring annually—could cause devastating losses: from $220 million in the Kyrgyz Republic to $2.3...
Niger is a Sahelian, landlocked and low-income country of approximately 25 million inhabitants with an estimated GDP per capita being among the lowest in the world (US$ 591 in 2021). The country is exposed to multiple risks of fragility, conflict and violence which coupled with extreme weather conditions and natural disasters result in increased food insecurity and other challenges. Successive shocks, most recently the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 flooding disaster only heighten the fragility...
Written by Mulder Mkutumula (Scalable Coordinator, Government of Malawi), Evie Calcutt (Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank), Chipo Msowoya (Senior Social Protection Specialist, World Bank), Alejandra Campero Peredo (Risk Finance Consultant, World Bank) With an economy that relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture, Malawi is increasingly vulnerable to climate shocks. In recent history, Malawi has seen increases in the frequency and severity of droughts, which cause the poorest and most...
Discounts, whether a percentage off, a buy-one-get-one-free deal, or an online coupon code, are a great way for people to pay less for what they want, and stretch their budgets. Governments, too, want to make the most of their money, especially for unexpected events such as disasters which are costly and the full amount must be paid. The 21st century has seen an evolution in the way we manage disaster risk and how governments are paying the disaster bill. We know that disasters hinder...