Multinational development finance institution the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and insurance company the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group have issued an insurance payout of $11.2 million to Malawi. The funds will support the country’s recovery efforts amid a severe drought experienced in 2024.
Financed by the AfDB through its African Development Fund and the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Program Multi-Donor Trust Fund, the payout will provide food assistance to approximately 235,000 households in Malawi’s Lower Shire and Southern regions. Additionally, cash transfers will be made to up to 118,000 households in the Central region to provide immediate relief.
“The AfDB, through the Transition Support Facility, will support government efforts to strengthen capacities for prevention, preparedness and resilience against climatic shocks in Malawi” said Yero Baldeh, Director of the Transition States Coordination Office of the AfDB Group.
The payout is part of a broader effort with a total of $62 million in disaster risk insurance payouts expected to be distributed across Southern Africa including Malawi by September 2024.
“We have witnessed the role of the ARC mechanism in facilitating timely interventions and we are grateful to partners such as the AfDB that make it possible for African governments to participate in ARC risk pools,” Ibrahima Cheikh Diong UN Assistant Secretary General and ARC Group Director General stated.
