The Swiss Re program during the first phase will provide financial protection against drought conditions for up to 400,000 people in Africa.
Under the program, Swiss Re — in partnership with Millennium Promise, a non-profit organization working to alleviate poverty in Africa and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, part of The Earth Institute at New York's Columbia University — will develop and implement climate risk indices for 12 designated areas in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.
Based on these climate risk indices, Swiss Re will design financial risk transfer instruments and bring them to the commercial financial market, the reinsurer said. Additionally, Swiss Re pledged to support financially related research and risk assessment, and engage in corporate citizenship initiatives.