Barely a year after African insurance leaders endorsed the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance, the initial commitment has not waned despite action on UN sustainable development goals loosing speed required.
However, the impetus provided by the UN’s decade of action to deliver on the SDGs by 2030, has created a need to accelerate solutions to major sustainability challenges- ranging from climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and pollution, to human rights violation, poverty and social inequality- particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that has slowed down progress on the SDGs.
A statement by the UN environment programme affirmed that stakeholders in Africa insurance industry have “key role to play in promoting economic, social and environmental sustainability- in other words, sustainable development- including ensuring a sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
As a playback to seal Africa’s commitment, the continent insurance leaders under the auspices of UN Environment Programme’s Principle for Sustainable Insurance Initiative, created five actions to support the achievement of the SDGs: risk management; insurance; investment; policy, regulatory and industry engagement; and sustainable insurance thinking practices, as headers creating spaces for more segments under each of the five action for support.
The Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance was launched by UN Environment Programme’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI) during the 4th PSI African Market Event on 22 April 2021. The event was hosted by ICEA LION Group and supported by Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) and African Risk capacity.
