The Deputy Australia High Commissioner, Mr. Paul Wilson

Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Mr. Ariff Ali

USP Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dr. Giulio Paunga

Consumer Council of Fiji CE, Ms. Seema Shandil

Senior Government officials

CEOs and officials from the private sector

Representatives from NGOs, CSOs, cooperative and partner agencies

UN colleagues

Media representatives and invited guests

Bula vinaka, namaste and a very good evening to you all.

On behalf of the Pacific Insurance and Climate Adaptation Programme, which is jointly implemented by the UN Capital Development Fund, UNDP and the UN University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), It is my pleasure to warmly welcome you all to this launch.

Tonight’s event, as I understand it, is the culmination of a reflection and ideation workshop – themed “Looking Back, Looking Within and Looking Ahead” -- consisting of the Programme team and its partners.

The Programme, PICAP in short, has shown impressive results in 2021, the first inception year and for the first time in the Pacific, we now have a climate disaster risk insurance available in Fiji, offered by two local private sector insurers - Fiji Care and Sun Insurance.

Normally, Fiji Care and Sun Insurance are two of the fiercest competitors in Fiji’s growing insurance sector. That PICAP managed to bring the two of them together in a partnership for the common good is an exemplary achievement that ought to be replicated across the development sector. The private sector is an important ally in the global agenda for sustainable development.

While still in its pilot phase, the programme has amply demonstrated that through building partnerships, deploying appropriate tools and instruments like UNCDF performance grants, and providing technical advice and capacity building support, market players can be catalyzed into action to deliver solutions that address persistent development challenges.

I need not reiterate the negative impacts of climate change and natural hazards and the economic impact on low-income Pacific islanders. But it’s important to mention that these impacts disproportionately affect women, the disadvantaged and the marginalized population, given the Pacific’s fragile infrastructure, limited availability of coping resources, and social and cultural norms. These groups typically face financial barriers in terms of accessibility to insurance products and other forms of formal financial support necessary for economic recovery. They are forced into taking potentially debilitating financial risks – like borrowing from loan sharks at exorbitant interest rates – just to recover from a cyclone.

The work that PICAP has started in Fiji in developing and deploying inclusive and equal risk transfer solutions like parametric microinsurance offers a ray of hope, to extend the protection to women and vulnerable communities, build financial resilience and assist in faster recovery after a catastrophic event.

The Programme is also a testimony to how different UN agencies, in this case, UNDP, UN University and UNCDF can come together, leverage each other’s strengths and contribute to progress in achieving national and regional development plans.

I understand that plans are underway in 2022 to move from pilot to scale in Fiji and expand into Tonga and Vanuatu through appropriate gender-responsive and inclusive products and interventions. Being attentive to different needs, specific vulnerabilities, and the society’s capabilities and potential contributions is key for this project and our broader work on creating gender-responsive and socially inclusive climate financing instruments that can help mitigate climate change risks and reduce existing socioeconomic inequalities in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda.

With these few words, I commend the management and staff of PICAP and wish them all success in their implementation, and I once again extend a warm and hearty welcome to all of you.

Vinaka, dhanyavaad and thank you.