Thank you. But let me first begin by commending Bill for his work and efforts on the adaptation agenda. The boost to CGIAR is especially welcome and we are proud to support this effort.
As we, the World Bank, seek to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity, we aim to achieve these goals in a sustainable way. In the face of extreme weather events, we want to support countries and economies to be better prepared.
I’ve seen firsthand how early finance can help communities get ahead of disasters. Earlier this year I visited Mozambique shortly after Cyclone Idai hit the region. Within days of the cyclone hitting, the government had dispersed $9 million to support its response and recovery efforts. That early financing is very important. It was part of a $90 million World Bank loan that was related to resilience.
Funding for the Global Risk Financing Facility, or GRiF, helps governments design cyclone insurance against events like this. The GRiF is an innovative new facility that is helping countries around the world scale-up financial solutions for situations like this. The GRiF is helping to boost resilience at all levels of the economy: at the macro-level to build better buffers; at the mid-level to get firms back into action quickly; and at the micro-level to protect households, assets, and livelihoods.
I was in Mozambique, and saw that those port facilities, those cities on the coast that had good buffers were able to get back into business quickly and begin supporting the people that were hardest hit by the cyclone.
And more resources – public and private – are being committed to support expansion of this work to additional countries. For example, we’re pleased to support the InsuResilience Goals Partnership and its vision 2025 to scale-up ambition for risk financing and build resilience for the poor and vulnerable. Germany has just pledged an additional €20 million and the UK pledged £90 million to further expand risk finance programs to many countries. And the private insurance industry has pledged to mobilize $5 billion until 2025 under the umbrella of the Insurance Development Forum.
As the likelihood of disasters becomes more predictable, we need to help countries make their ability to respond more predictable as well. I’d like to thank you.
Thanks.
