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The African Risk Capacity Group (ARC Group), African Development Bank partnership provide $10.7 million to the Government of Madagascar for tropical cyclone BATSIRAI recovery

Pays
Madagascar
Sources
AfDB
+ 2
Date de publication

Antananarivo, Madagascar 1 March 2022 – Representatives from the African Risk Capacity Group (ARC Group) and African Development Bank (AfDB) presented a symbolic $10.7 million cheque to the Government of Madagascar, to support the island nation’s recovery from tropical cyclone BATSIRAI. The cyclone is one of the most severe tropical cyclones in Madagascar in the last 30 years.

The payout is the result of tropical cyclone insurance taken out by Madagascar under the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme (ADRiFi), a partnership involving the African Development Bank and ARC Group that strengthens Madagascar’s resilience by supporting its participation in ARC's sovereign risk transfer mechanism. The financing of the insurance premium was made possible by the contributions of the Governments of the United Kingdom and Switzerland through the ADRiFi Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) managed by AfDB, as well as the Government of Germany through ARC’s Premium Support Facility.

“These funds will help the country, to a large extent, with post-cyclone reconstruction through activities considered to be priorities - particularly in the agricultural sector,” said His Excellency Christian Ntsay, Madagascar’s Prime Minister and Head of Government. “Because of the floods, agriculture suffered a lot of damage, leading to the destruction of the means livelihood of smallholder farmers and rural communities,” he added.

BATSIRAI formed in the Indian Ocean on 21 January 2022, intensifying to an intense tropical cyclone before making landfall along Madagascar’s southeastern coastal city of Mananjary, some 530 kilometers from capital Antananarivo, on 5 February 2022.

Tropical cyclone BATSIRAI’s winds and rains damaged homes, schools, health centres, and transport infrastructure, leaving some of the hardest-hit areas inaccessible by road. The Agency determined that the districts of Mananjary, Nosy Varika and Manakara were the most affected. The Malagasy National Disaster Management Agency (BNGRC) reported more than 124,000 people were affected, with at least 29,000 displaced and at least 121 deaths. According to ARC’s subsequent assessment of the event, about 6 million people were exposed to cyclone BATSIRAI at windspeeds of up to 119 km/h.

“Africa is the most vulnerable continent to climate change, prone to natural disasters including drought, floods and tropical cyclones,” said AfDB Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Beth Dunford. “Risk pools such as the African Risk Capacity are cost-effective vehicles to help countries like Madagascar access rapid financing for disaster response - especially through insurance. The ARC- ADRiFi partnership will enable Madagascar to implement programmes to assist the people impacted by cyclone BATSIRAI,” she added.

The Government of Madagascar says the funds will target recovery efforts such as building temporary shelters, reconstructing residences, as well as providing seed and fertilizer to flood-impacted farmers and rural communities. Payout financing will also go toward efforts to boost food security by providing food rations and food supplements, with a focus on children, pregnant or breastfeeding women in vulnerable areas of the country.

“Our support goes to the Government of Madagascar and our hearts to the people of Madagascar who have experienced devastation and destruction caused by tropical cyclone BATSIRAI. Madagascar has been one of ARC’s most active and leading Member States, and the first country to subscribe to ARC’s offered insurance policy against tropical cyclones,” said United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and ARC Group Director General, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong

Media Contacts

For African Risk Capacity Group: Simon Pierre Diouf, Communications Officer, African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group, Email: simonpierre.diouf@arc.int
For Madagascar: Annie Ainaharivelo Robdera, Communication Officer, a.i, Prevention and Emergency