The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, on Thursday partnered with the African Reinsurance Corporation, Africa Re, to convene a high-level workshop.
The workshop held in Abuja was aimed at strengthening disaster risk financing across Nigeria.The forum brought together public and private sector leaders to promote insurance-based solutions and enhance the country’s resilience to recurrent disasters, particularly flooding.
The event, attended by over 50 senior decision-makers from the public and private sectors, focused on innovative insurance mechanisms, public-private collaboration, and the need to enhance financial resilience in the face of increasing climate-related disasters.
Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, in a message delivered by Mr Idris Mohammed, Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, highlighted that floods during the 2024 rainy season affected more than 1.3 million people across 34 states. Over 740,000 individuals were displaced, with lives and livelihoods lost on a large scale.
Umar expressed concern over the rising frequency and intensity of disasters such as floods, building collapses, insurgencies, and resource-based conflicts. She advocated for the adoption of insurance-based risk transfer mechanisms to facilitate swift recovery and business continuity.
She acknowledged the challenges in promoting insurance solutions, citing low uptake caused by high premiums and limited awareness. However, she expressed optimism that insights from the workshop would drive progress.
Umar stressed the need to align disaster risk financing with Nigeria’s National Disaster Recovery Plan and global frameworks like the Sendai Framework.
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Deputy Managing Director/CEO of Africa Re, Mr Ken Aghoghovbia, recalled that the 2022 floods displaced 1.3 million people and resulted in $9.6 billion in economic losses.
He noted that the 2024 floods affected 33 states and were aggravated by the release of excess water from the Alau and Lagdo dams in Borno and Kogi states.
Aghoghovbia called for public-private partnerships to design sustainable disaster risk financing strategies, including the development of policy frameworks, prioritised investments, and increased technical capacity in the insurance sector.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr Nicholas Ella, emphasised proactive preparedness and financial readiness. He cited California’s wildfire response as a model and encouraged stakeholders to focus on readiness over reaction.
Commissioner for Insurance and CEO of NAICOM, Mr Olusegun Omosehin, reiterated the vital role of insurance in mitigating disaster impacts. He detailed NAICOM’s commitment to a national risk strategy, early warning systems, and the promotion of parametric insurance.
The workshop featured participants from government agencies, academia, and the insurance industry, who explored ways to leverage NEMA’s disaster loss data to inform strategic planning and enhance national resilience.
NAN
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