The Pan African Risk Management Mutual (ARC), an institution of the African Union, is developing an insurance product to facilitate the implementation of rapid interventions and access to immediate financial assistance in the event of a crisis. epidemic.
Ebola virus disease, Marburg virus disease, meningitis and Lassa fever will be covered during the pilot phase. More than 30 African countries are at risk for one of these four potentially epidemiogenic diseases.
The Ministries of Health of Guinea and Uganda, the two countries where the pilot phase of the ARC’s outbreak and outbreak insurance program is being implemented, selected these four pathogens because of the known risk of epidemics and their devastating impact on people and economies.
The O & E insurance product builds on the successes of the ARC in implementing disaster risk financing programs in Africa. It is designed as an integrated system to enable governments to respond quickly and effectively to a public health emergency. As part of the program, collaboration will be established with countries to determine their epidemic risks and select pathogens to cover, optimize early warning systems, set up pre-established contingency plans for response rapid and rapid disbursement of funds through index insurance.
Mohamed Beavogui, Director General of the ARC Agency and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, said, “The identification of this first group of pathogens for the realization of our program marks a significant milestone. After working closely with the Ugandan and Guinean governments, the WHO Regional Office for Africa, the CACM / AU and other stakeholders, we have a product that will make a difference in Africa, which targets the public health needs of Africans and is the fruit of African and international collaboration “.
Globally, the incidence of bacterial meningitis is extremely high in the “African Meningitis Belt,” which includes 26 countries and extends from Senegal to Ethiopia. Many countries in West Africa, East Africa and Central Africa are at risk of Marburg and Lassa fever epidemics, both classified as fevers. viral haemorrhagic.
The 2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed 11,310 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The World Bank has estimated the losses in these three countries at $ 2.8 billion. According to some studies, a response to the Ebola outbreak two months earlier would have reduced the death toll by 80%.
On the need to respond quickly to the continent’s disasters, Beavogui said, “African governments have emphasized the need for faster funding to avoid a new tragedy like the recent Ebola outbreak. in West Africa. With this in mind, the CRA works closely with governments and its partners. We are putting in place an innovative system for early action to fund effective and efficient interventions that will help stop epidemics before they turn into crises. ”
The ARC O & E pilot program is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Metabiota Inc., Health Systems Consult Limited, and public health economists affiliated with Columbia University are working on the development of the ARC pilot product in collaboration with Columbia.
When launched in full in autumn 2019 and made available to all African Union countries, the O & E product will strengthen African health systems by contributing to the development of national capacities in terms of development. Risk profiles and contingency planning / interventions. It will also enable African countries and their partners to respond appropriately to outbreaks and outbreaks without these interventions being compromised by slow and unpredictable funding.
About the Pan African Risk Management Mutual (CRA)
The CRA consists of two entities, the CRA Agency and the CRA Insurance Corporation (ARC Ltd). The ARC Institution was established in 2012 as a specialized institution of the African Union to assist AU Member States to improve their capacities for better planning, preparedness and response. better respond to natural disasters related to climate change. ARC Ltd is a mutual insurance company that provides risk transfer services to Member States through risk pooling and access to reinsurance markets. The ARC is owned by Member States with an ongoing insurance contract, as well as by the KfW Development Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DfID), as donors.
With the support of the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, France and the United States, the ARC helps AU member states to reduce their risk of loss and damage from extreme weather events that affect African populations by providing disaster risk insurance products with targeted responses to natural disasters more quickly, economically, objectively and in a timely manner. transparent. ARC is putting its skills to work against some of the biggest threats facing the continent, including outbreaks and outbreaks.
