ARC Strategic Framework

To build a disaster resilient Africa and protect the livelihoods of vulnerable people in Africa against the impact of natural disasters, the African Risk Capacity is guided by a Strategic Framework launched in 2016.

To build a disaster resilient Africa and protect the livelihoods of vulnerable people in Africa against the impact of natural disasters, the African Risk Capacity is guided by a Strategic Framework launched in 2016.

The Strategic Framework provides a foundation for the African Risk Capacity to create pan-African natural disaster response systems that enable African governments to protect the livelihoods of people at risk from natural disasters.

The Strategic Framework focuses on three objectives:

The African Risk Capacity is a global leader in applied research and the development of tools that monitor and trigger financing to respond to natural hazard risks. Innovation and constant renewal of research and development is a strategic priority for ARC and will ensure the organisations’ products are improved, remain relevant and continue to meet the needs of Member States.

Through partnerships across the continent and collaboration with leading global knowledge centres, African Risk Capacity enhances and expands its research and development.

There are three key areas of technical focus:

1. Africa RiskView and New Product Development
   Africa Riskview, the African Risk Capacity’s core product and technical engine, will remain the primary focus, recognising the need to continue to refine and improve the product, including developing additional components for other risk, such as flood and tropical cyclone, which have been requested by Member States.
2. Contingency Planning Standards and Guidelines
   The African Risk Capacity Contingency Planning Standards and Guidelines will be reviewed periodically and updated. This process will be informed by data gathered through the African Risk Capacity programme cycle and through additional research.
3. Innovative Financial Mechanisms
   The African Risk Capacity will further develop mechanisms to strengthen its existing products and crowd-in further financing from public and private sectors to support the sustainability of the African Risk Capacity.

The African Risk Capacity harnesses a holistic approach to risk management in its Member States, ensuring steady ARC Ltd portfolio growth, including additional perils and the participation by increasing numbers of Member States. The foundations of this work and a key strategic focus of the African Risk Capacity’s activities will be capacity building, both to ensure understanding of disaster risk insurance by governments and to support the development of their operational capacity to transform the risk financing paradigm to one that harnesses a proactive approach, using the African Risk Capacity’s services and other risk financial tools, in support of great country resilience.

The African Risk Capacity’s programmes in its Member States is country-led, encouraging sustainability and the strengthening of national disaster risk management capacities. The African Risk Capacity will continue to strengthen the pillars of its Capacity Building Programme.

Expanding Member State participation in ARC Ltd and their consistent risk transfer transactions will enable the African Risk Capacity to develop a more sustainable financing structure for its core operations, allowing ARC Agency to move away from dependence on donors.

The African Risk Capacity will continue to expand membership among AU Member States through dialogue and sensitization while maintaining its technical support to existing Member States. Innovative financing mechanisms, such as Replica coverage and the Extreme Climate Facility//www.arc.int/product/extreme-climate-facility-xcf/, will increase the accessibility and coverage of ARC’s products as the impacts of climate change increase in magnitude and cost.