The Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme (PFIP), together with the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII) are gauging views to set up an insurance product that will allow Pacific Islanders to recover quicker financially after a natural disaster.
A workshop organised early this month under these two programmes to gauge interest in setting up this insurance product that will allow Pacific islanders to recover quicker financially after a natural disaster.
PNG, like many other Pacific Island countries, is prone to natural disasters including volcanic eruptions, flood, cyclone, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis.
The workshop brought together stakeholders in the climate change and disaster risk management space.
They included senior officials from the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA), Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), National Disaster Centre and the National Weather Services.
Other participants included insurance and financial service providers, regulators, donors and development Partners, NGO’s and representatives from the UNDP and other UN agencies.
The workshop focused discussions around the four areas that future partners can collaborate on, in order to design parametric insurance and other disaster risk financing products that will have real impact for beneficiaries.
Participants came up with ideas on how best to outline this development in such a way that it aligns with national strategies and plans, as well as their own organizations’ priorities.
PFIP Deputy Programme Manager, Krishnan Narasimhan reiterated the need for collaboration to develop appropriate and affordable financing solutions suitable to the communities in PNG with a view to ensure immediate post disaster relief and recovery and build resilience.
Similar workshops have also been held in both Solomon Islands and Samoa this month, as well as in Tonga, Vanuatu and Fiji earlier in the year.
In the months ahead, inputs from these workshops will be incorporated in the design of a new programme to be named “Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme” that aims to empower Pacific Islanders to be better prepared in the event of natural disasters.
