The World Food Programme (WFP) hopes to raise US$ 230 million (EUR 158 million) to expand its drought insurance programme in Ethiopia to cover 6.7 million people in 2009-2011. In 2006, WFP partnered with French firm Axa Re to pilot a programme to provide cash payouts to farmers in the event of a severe drought. Donors are looking at index-based risk financing as a new way to help the poor cope with disasters. WFP spokesperson Ulrich Hess suggests that OECD countries help poor countries adapt to climate change by paying for some of the insurance premiums.

A related initiative, the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) has also been piloted in Ethiopia. The PSNP offers guaranteed employment for five days a month in public works programmes which can include construction of drinking water systems, in return for either food or preferably cash - US$ 4 (EUR 2.75) per month for each household member. Public Works Programmes have been initiated in many countries, for example in South Africa’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and in ILO’s Special Public Works Programme (SPWP) in the 1980s.

Source: IRIN, 14 Dec 2007 ; IRIN, 5 Dec 2007