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New insurance policy will protect up to 160,000 people in Senegal from drought

Start Network has signed a climate risk insurance policy that will protect up to 160,000 people in Senegal from the effects of drought. One of the first of its kind, the policy will enable aid agencies to offer life-saving support to people in Senegal as soon as a drought is predicted, helping to prevent famine.

Start Network members launch pilot to promote local, rapid and early action in Nepal

Following the success of last year’s Start Fund COVID-19 response in Nepal, Start Network members are piloting a country-based contingency fund to respond rapidly to, and in anticipation of, small to medium scale crises in the country. Funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), this member-led trial, known as Start Fund Nepal, has been designed by local, national and international organisations. Members of the Start Fund Bangladesh team have also been supporting the design based on their experience of managing a country-based pooled fund since 2017.

UK Aid provides £12m to support the Start Fund

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced today that it would provide a further £12m to support the Start Fund. The funding will enable frontline actors across Start Network’s members and partners to continue to respond rapidly to and in anticipation of under-the-radar humanitarian crises. The FCDO also agreed to work with Start Network in its transition to a global network of ‘hubs’, which will facilitate locally-led responses and improve NGO access to more innovative financing that will mitigate humanitarian impacts, both protecting and assisting people affected by crises.

Innovative Approach to Insurance Enables Humanitarian Agencies To Proactively Manage Climate-Related Risks At Scale

A new report published today demonstrates how insurance can help governments and organisations to predict and proactively manage climate-related humanitarian risks at scale. The report, published by Start Network, a global collaboration of humanitarian NGOs, is based on a comprehensive evaluation of its programme in Senegal, which utilised a ‘parametric insurance’ policy to pay out before the worst effects of a drought were felt.