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CONTEXT:

Africa has made notable progress in the last three decades. Life expectancy has risen steadily, school enrollment has grown, and carbon emissions have steadily remained well below global averages.

Amidst these achievements, managing disaster risks and urban challenges is key to ensuring that Africa¡¯s development achievements are not lost when disasters hit. About 90% of all disasters in Africa are weather and climate driven. By 2030, up to 118 million extremely poor people in Africa, living on less than $1.25 a day, will be exposed to cyclones, drought, floods, earthquakes, extreme heat and extreme weather conditions.

ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and partners are working with African governments and communities to build resilience in key urban and rural areas throughout the continent. The objective is to assist Africa in taking positive steps toward reaching its growth potential, scaling up its economic achievements, and fostering resilience against climate, urban and disaster risks.

RESPONSE:

Africa¡¯s growing population and urbanization presents an opportunity for a turning point towards equitable growth and progress. With evolving demographic growth and Africa¡¯s urbanization rate, about 70% of Africa¡¯s urban areas and cities are yet to be built. It presents opportunities for the private and public sectors to collaborate and invest in people, communities and cities¡ªbut cities must be well managed to attract private capital.

The Africa DRM program sought to primarily implement activities under a regional approach. The program or strategy is aligned with World Bank Corporate Initiatives such as: the World Bank Group¡¯s Climate Change Action Plan 2016-2020, the Africa Climate Business Plan (ACBP) and the .

The PA contributes to:

• Protect the government fiscal situation, reduce welfare and asset losses . These credit lines facilitate key policy and institutional reforms for integrating disaster and climate resilience into government¡¯s development processes.
• Plan the fiscal response through the  that guarantee immediate liquidity to address shocks related to natural disasters.
• Increase resilient investments of national and local governments. Under the (CRP) and , the team works on resilience planning and capital mobilization. Meanwhile, the  supports scaling up World Bank engagements with coastal cities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Encompass technical and policy level advisory services at the regional level through the . In partnership with the , GFDRR continues strengthening the analytical underpinning for  and providing capacity building and enhancing regional knowledge on weather and climate related hazards.

Last Updated: Mar 03,2020

STRATEGY:

The Africa DRM program contributes to the achievement of the twin goals: eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. 

The strategy has increased the financial resilience of Africa¡¯s governments and private sectors by providing financial solutions to investments in risk reduction projects and implementing new risk transfer mechanisms. Under this strategy, in FY19 the World Bank leveraged a total of US$3,498 million (59% ongoing, 41% still in pipeline) to support vulnerable countries in achieving disaster-resilient and climate-smart development.

The strategy is structured in four pillars:

1. DRM Policy and Strategy Support for Ministries of Finance raises awareness of disaster risk impact on long term growth. Products developed inform potential financial solutions based on a country-tailored strategy for quick mobilization of resources to . The team has supported the preparation of a DRF National agenda for 18 countries (Benin, Kenya, Cabo Verde, Lesotho, Eswatini, Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe); the preparation and/or implementation of disaster risk financing policies/strategies in 6 countries (Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Benin, Malawi, Kenya and Ethiopia) and instruments (i.e. contingent lines of credits, emergency funds, shock responsive safety nets, crop and livestock insurance programs, among others.)  
   
2. Strengthening Urban Resilience in Africa maximizes finance for development by promoting crowd-in private investments, more efficient government services, and the changing role of government-as-a-platform. Investment designs minimize disaster risks under a spatial multi-sectoral approach. Moreover, the activities provide  and  to improve governance and city management. supported projects in 12 cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, including: Antananarivo, Madagascar; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Ngaoundere, Cameroon; Victoria, Seychelles; Saint-Louis, Senegal, Stone Town, Zanzibar; Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo; Accra, Ghana; Kampala, Uganda and Monrovia, Liberia. Under the City Resilience Program, 19 African cities have received  (Cote d¡¯Ivoire, Ethiopia, Mali, The Gambia, Malawi, Benin, Tanzania, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Liberia and Kenya) resulting in various outcomes and follow-up engagements.
3. Modernizing Hydromet Services offer capacity building opportunities and enhance regional knowledge to improve  to climate related disasters, based on accurate hydrological and meteorological information and services. The use of new and innovative technologies within the projects foster human capital, sustainable development, and long term resilience. With technical assistance support financed by GFDRR, the World Bank has programmed about $200 million for active and upcoming hydromet investment projects. Most of the technical assistance support is financed with $11.3 million from the  
   
4. Strengthening Resilient Recovery focuses on reducing vulnerability and building back better by conducting qualitative and quantitative . These activities inform  and provide  in large vulnerable low-income areas while building the foundations for better management aiming for resilient communities that attract private investment. During FY19, GFDRR¡¯s Just-In-Time Recovery Facility provided on-demand and accelerated post-disaster support to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Comoros which were severely damaged after the 2019 Cyclone Idai and Kenneth. This technical assistance enabled the four countries to mobilize $630 million IDA grants and credits from the  for furthering recovery and reconstruction work. 

Last Updated: Mar 03,2020