PH Reiterates Commitment to Strengthen Cooperation on Disaster and Climate Resilience in Horn of Africa

Philippine Ambassador to Kenya H.E. Uriel Norman R. Garibay as speaker for the session on Innovation Tools on Resilience (Photo credits: IGAD/ UNDP)

08 November 2017 ENTEBBE — The Philippines reiterated its commitment to strengthen cooperation on disaster and climate resilience in the Greater Horn of Africa region at the Second Regional Resilience Forum of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The Forum, which was held in Entebbe, Uganda from October 31 to November 02, was participated in by IGAD Member States, its specialized institutions, development partners, UN agencies, and regional and international organizations, among others.

In his remarks, Ambassador Garibay highlighted the role of innovation and partnership in building resilient institutions and communities and in empowering the most vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors of society. The Philippine Government’s cooperation with IGAD and UNDP includes the areas of risk transfer and microinsurance and the development of a disaster early warning mobile application called the Regional Early warning And Communication Tool or REACT.

The Ambassador stressed that the growth and success of the Philippine microinsurance sector had been enabled by innovation and partnership. Reaching out and providing access to sectors who were most in need required that service providers innovate, design, and tailor products as well as strategies. This, in turn, enabled the dramatic increase of Philippine microinsurance penetration rate in a relatively short period of time. The regulatory framework also recognized the need for public and private sector collaboration, and has accordingly provided an environment that is conducive for such partnership. Similarly, Batingaw, a home-grown mobile application from which REACT was patterned, demonstrated how public-private partnership could be an effective means for advancing innovative solutions and approaches to building disaster and climate resilience.

With IGAD and ASEAN regions being similarly situated in terms of natural disaster risk exposure, the Ambassador expressed hope that the Philippines’ current engagement with IGAD could lead to an opportunity where institutions within the two regions could share and learn from each other. END

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