Officials Trained on Building Resilience to Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Officials Trained on Building Resilience to Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Natural disasters around the world entail significant physical and economic costs, with consequent adverse implications for external and fiscal balances owing to post-disaster relief and recovery efforts. Regionally, the West Indian Ocean (WIO) has faced about 15 natural disasters, which cost the region over US$250 million in damages according to the World Bank, while the Southern Africa region is warming at twice the global rate. The high vulnerability of the WIO region and Southern Africa to natural disasters places governments under inexorable pressure to finance the costs of rebuilding their respective countries after a disaster has occurred, notwithstanding their limited fiscal space and weak economic growth. This has, amongst others, contributed to the accumulation of debt as governments borrow to rebuild damaged infrastructure.

It is in this regard that MEFMI, in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) AFRITAC South (AFS) conducted a virtual seminar on building resilience to natural disasters and climate change in Southern Africa and WIO region. The seminar, which was conducted from 23 to 26 February 2021 focused on (i) managing macro-fiscal risks of climate change and natural disasters, and (ii) understanding the role of public financial management (PFM) in addressing climate change and responding to natural disasters. Requisite PFM tools to address climate risks, drawing on international and regional experiences, were also discussed.

The seminar was attended by 45 participants from 14 African countries. Of these, 32 participants were from MEFMI member countries’ Central Banks, Ministries of Finance and Planning, as well as Ministries of Environment and Disaster Management departments. The seminar was facilitated by a team of resource persons namely; Mr. Richard Neves; Mr. Felipe Bardella; Mr. Chol Suphachalasai; Ms. Yuko Kinoshita; Mr. Bruce Stacy and Mr. Saad Quayyum all from the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD); and Mr Yuvan Beejadhur (IMF short term expert).
Looking ahead, countries are expected to use the knowledge gained from the seminar to put in place robust fiscal policies and effective fiscal institutions for building resilience to natural disasters and climate change risks.

Prepared By: Sayed Timuno and Vivian Namugambe