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Tag: Africare

  • AFRICAN REINSURANCE CORPORATION (AFRICA RE) AND NEMA TO HOST GROUND-BREAKING WORKSHOP ON DISASTER RISK FINANCING AND INSURANCE IN NIGERIA

    AFRICAN REINSURANCE CORPORATION (AFRICA RE) AND NEMA TO HOST GROUND-BREAKING WORKSHOP ON DISASTER RISK FINANCING AND INSURANCE IN NIGERIA

    The African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re), Africa’s premier reinsurance institution, in strategic partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), will host a high-level national workshop on Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance in Nigeria on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

    This landmark event marks a significant step toward revolutionizing Nigeria’s approach to disaster management through innovative insurance mechanisms and enhanced public-private collaboration.

    The one-day intensive workshop aims to convene over 50 senior decision-makers from both the public and private sectors to catalyze transformative discussions on sustainable disaster risk financing strategies for Nigeria.

    In recent years, Nigeria has grappled with devastating natural and human-induced disasters that have caused unprecedented destruction. The catastrophic floods of 2022 alone affected over 30 states, resulted in more than 600 fatalities, displaced approximately 1.3 million people, and generated economic losses estimated at USD 9.6 billion. Similarly, the 2020 floods impacted 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory, displacing over 740,000 people and damaging an estimated 850,000 tons of crops.

    These recurring disasters underscore the critical need to shift from reactive approaches to proactive disaster risk financing mechanisms that can ensure swift recovery and business continuity in the aftermath of disasters.

    The workshop will feature a series of insightful sessions on disaster risk financing and insurance, delivered by leading experts in the field.  The aim of the workshop is to support Nigeria’s efforts in strengthening emergency preparedness by exploring practical insurance solutions and collaborative approaches. The sessions of the workshop will also focus on understanding the country’s disaster risk landscape and how the private sector can complement government efforts in buildingfinancial resilience.

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    Furthermore, it is the objective of the organizers that participants will help identify the necessary building blocks for insurance to play a meaningful role in disaster preparedness such as policy and legal frameworks, priority investment areas, and thetechnical capacity needed by local insurance industry. Anticipated outcomes include the development of a clear roadmap to enhance insurance as a tool in disaster risk management in Nigeria. By the end of the workshop, participants are expected to align on actionable next steps that will guide future disaster preparedness initiatives and financing strategies.

    This workshop reflects Africa Re’s ongoing commitment to strengthening insurance as a tool for building resilience across the continent. NEMA’s role as Nigeria’s lead agency for disaster management ensures that the conversations remain grounded across a broad range of partnerships from both public and private sectors. Together, both institutions are driving a shared agenda to position insurance as core elements of Nigeria’s disaster risk financing strategy.   This convening is partly supported by the Nigeria Climate Insurance Project, under which Africa Re and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are collaborating to deliver technical assistance for the development of inclusive insurance in the country.The projectaims to provide technical support to local stakeholders to develop the capacity to leverage insurance solutions in solving challenges that affect society. 

    About Africa Re
    The African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) is the leading pan-African reinsurance company and the largest reinsurer in Africa in terms of net reinsurance written premiums. Established in 1976 by 36 African states following a recommendation of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa Reinsurance Corporation works to develop the insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa through increased underwriting and retention capacities, supporting the continent’s economic development.

    Ranked among the top global reinsurance groups, Africa Re has a diverse shareholding structure comprising 42 African member States (34.63%), the African Development Bank (8.38%), 114 African insurance and reinsurance companies (34.94%), and 3 non-regional shareholders (23.05%), including leading global insurers and reinsurers from France (AXA), Canada (FAIRFAX), and Germany (ALLIANZ SE).

    With headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, Africa Re operates through six Regional Offices across Africa: Casablanca (Morocco), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria), Cairo (Egypt), and Ebene (Mauritius). The Corporation also maintains one Local Office in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), an Underwriting Representative Office in Kampala (Uganda), and three Subsidiaries: Africa Re South Africa Limited in Johannesburg (South Africa), Africa Retakaful in Cairo (Egypt), and Africa Re Underwriting Agency Limited in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

    About NEMA
    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is the statutory body mandated by the Federal Government of Nigeria to coordinate all disaster management activities throughout the country. Since its establishment, NEMA has been at the forefront of disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts across Nigeria.

    For more information on the event, contact

    For more information about Africa Re, visit our official website (https://www.africa-re.com/)

    Isaac Magina​ on email: magina.isaac@africa-re.com

    Alfred Adogbo on email: adogbo.alfred@africa-re.com

    Joseph Chege on email: nduati.joseph@africa-re.com

  • Fed Govt, Africare sensitise communities on LPG usage

    Fed Govt, Africare sensitise communities on LPG usage

    The Federal Government and Africare Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation, have embarked on sensitisation campaigns in various communities to promote the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly known as cooking gas.

    Speaking on behalf of the government at a community outreach programme on the importance of using cooking gas in place of firewood, kerosene or charcoal, in Abuja, the Programme Manager, National LPG Expansion Plan at the Office of the Vice President, Mr. Dayo Adeshina, said several initiative was taken to increase the distribution of cooking gas.

    He said: “This is a programme that is quite important and has been going on for over a year and we are going to expand it nationwide. The idea is to ensure that everyone switches to gas and several initiatives are being taken in both the supply and distribution of gas.

    “This government has bought into the programmes of the LPG association and you can see that the President has signed onto 20 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. There is a lot of deforestation and about 19 states are suffering this because people are cutting down trees for firewood. And this needs to stop.

    “Now, the only way to stop that is by the increased usage of the LPG. Well over four million people die yearly worldwide as a result of inhaling fumes from bad fuels like kerosene, firewood and charcoal. So right now, the LPG production is widely available in Nigeria but supply and distribution are areas we need to focus on.

    The Country Director, Africare Nigeria, Orode Doherty, said the benefits of using the LPG were far higher than the use of charcoal, kerosene and firewood.

    This, she said, was why the NGO decided to take the sensitisation campaigns to various communities in Nigeria.

  • 10,000 youths empowered by ExxonMobil, NBA, Africare

    10,000 youths empowered by ExxonMobil, NBA, Africare

    Ten thousand youth in schools and vulnerable communities will benefit from the Power Forward programme organised by ExxonMobil, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and an international non-governmental organisation, Africare.

    The organisation’s Technical Director, NBA Africa, Power Forward, to Franck Traore, spoke in Abuja at this year’s edition of the youth development programme.

    The youth empowerment programme would equip the participants with life skills information, while 6,000 bed nets will be distributed and 20 hand wash stations installed to promote hygiene and promote exemplary leadership skills.

    He said: “This programme has held three major kick off events with more than 6,000 students and VIP’s in attendance. We have embarked on several interventions at IDP centres for malaria prevention and sanitation exercise.”

    The Power Forward project also supports the Federal Government’s National Malaria Control Programmes’ advocacy on youth development and public health, which ExxonMobil also supports through its health initiatives in the country.

    Africare Nigeria Country Director Orode Doherty said the work of power forward is to engage young students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), using basketball as a platform to learn about life skills and public health development.

    “Malaria is one of the diseases that we focus on ensuring the students know about because it can be eradicated through individual contributions and behavior, which some of our youths are not aware of. Therefore, power forward program ensures that the students know that every fever needs to be tested and if it is done using a rapid diagnostic test, if found to be positive then you need to get treated.

    “The students also have an understanding of those that are vulnerable to the disease as well as measures to take to prevent malaria,”she said.

  • NGO facilitates malaria prevention in 10,000 employees of ExxonMobil

    NGO facilitates malaria prevention in 10,000 employees of ExxonMobil

    Africare, an international NGO working in ExxonMobil host communities of Akwa Ibom and Rivers, says it has facilitated the prevention of malaria in 10, 000 employees of ExxonMobil.

    Dr Patrick Adah, the Africare Director, Malaria Programme, disclosed this on Thursday in Ibeno Council Area of Akwa Ibom during a medical outreach, organized to mark 2017 World Malaria Day.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the outreach was organized by Africare in collaboration with ExxonMobil, tagged, ‘Malaria Prevention in Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN)-supplier communities (MAPS-C).’

    Adah said that the 10,000 beneficiaries of the MAPS-C project were members of staff of over 295 contracting oil firms working for ExxonMobil in both Akwa Ibom and Rivers.

    He further said that the project, which started in 2015, had also benefitted 84, 000 individuals drawn from two oil bearing communities in the two states.

    Adah said the communities were; Eket and Ibeno in Akwa Ibom and Bonny and Ogu/Bolo in Rivers.

    He further said under Africare-ExxonMobil partnership, a new device for testing malaria in individuals, called Deki Reader, was introduced in the two states last year.

    Adah advised the citizens of the affected communities to sleep under the long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) at night and also go for test before treating malaria.

    He warned them against taking malaria drugs on the slightest feeling of headache and fever, adding that they should always do test to confirm the presence of malaria parasites before treatment.

    Adah also advised the people to keep their environment clean to prevent breeding of mosquitoes responsible for transmission of the malaria parasites.

    Speaking on behalf of ExxonMobil, a pharmacist in the Medical and Occupational Health Department of the company, Mrs Enobong Etuknwa, thanked Africare for organizing the programme.

    Etuknwa noted that ExxonMobil had made significant progress in its workplace malaria control programme and had averted 2,000 cases of malaria.

    “No ExxonMobil employee has died of malaria since 2007. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease,” she said.

    Etuknwa also said that ExxonMobil had so far committed $163 million to malaria control and elimination efforts so far between 2000 and 2017.

    She also said that since 2000, the company had supported the distribution of 14 million bed nets, administered anti-malarial treatment to four million persons and also trained 590, 000 health workers.

    “We believe that these investments are our responsibility as good citizens and are in our interest as a business with global footprint,” Etuknwa said.

    In his address, the Chairman, Ibeno Mkpanak village council, Chief Okon Mfon, also thanked Africare for bringing the outreach to his village to help reduce malaria prevalence in the area

    Mfon, however, appealed to Africare-ExxonMobil partnership to assist the community by providing equipment and personnel in its community health center.

    He further appealed to ExxonMobil to provide financial incentive to the members of staff of the health center, to motivate them for effective healthcare delivery.

    The one-day outreach is to demonstrate how Africare and ExxonMobil are playing their parts in responding to the question in this year’s slogan, “what is your role” in malaria prevention”?

    Experts demonstrated to the gathering at the occasion the correct use of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and counseled the people on malaria prevention, testing for malaria parasites and treatment.

  • AfricaRe, Custodian, others can meet obligations, says report

    African Reinsurance Plc has the ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations, A.M. Best Company, the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating agency, has said.

    According to the agency, Continental Reinsurance Plc has an excellent ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations.

    Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc and Axa Mansard Insurance Plc were however said to have financial strength and ability to meet their ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations.

    But Wapic Insurance Plc on its part has a fair ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations but its financial strength is vulnerable to adverse changes in underwriting and economic conditions.

    This was made known in A.M. Best’s latest edition of Non-US Ratings Monitor.

    The organisation unveiled the latest Financial Strength Rating (FSR) and Issuer Credit Rating (ICR) of the five Nigerian based insurance outfits rated by the organisation.

    Associate Director, Market Development and Communications, A.M. Best-Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Dr. Edem Kuenyehia said Continental Reinsurance Plc got B+ Stable (FSR) bbb- Stable (ICR), Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc got B Stable (FSR) bb Positive (ICR), Axa Mansard Insurance Plc was assigned B+ Positive (FSR) bbb- Positive (ICR) and Wapic Insurance Plc got B- Stable(FSR) bb- Stable (ICR).

    Kuenyehia explained that FSR indicates an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations, while the ICR specifies an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet its ongoing senior financial obligations.

    He said: “The FSR of African Reinsurance was A, meaning that the company has an excellent ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations. Continental Reinsurance’s B+ means the firm has a good ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations.’’

     

  • Africare treats 72,520 in Akwa Ibom, Rivers

    An international non-governmental organisation (NGO), Africare, yesterday said its Malaria Prevention Programmes in Akwa Ibom and Rivers have benefited 72, 520 persons.

    The Director of Malaria Programme, Africare, Dr Patrick Adah, spoke yesterday in Upenekang in Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom at this year’s World Malaria Day celebration.

     Adah said the beneficiaries included 12,579 children under five and 10,480 expectant mothers.

    He said his organisation was committed to malaria prevention in rural communities and had trained 172 workers on rapid diagnostic testing, drug administration, logistic and proper data capturing and reporting.

    Adah said Africare’s malaria prevention in Akwa Ibom was operational in Eket and Ibeno; Ogu/Bolo and Bonny in Rivers through the sponsorship of ExxonMobil.