Ebere Nwoji
The West African Reinsurance Corporation (WAICA Re), has said that it was set to fight the effects of climatic change and other emerging risk across the African continent through sponsorship of an annual competition that would require people to provide practical solutions to ending these emerging disaster on the continent.
The corporation said it has taken the responsibility of funding the winning project.
The WAICA Group Chief Operating Officer, Dr Abiba Zakariah, addressing the media on the initiative, during the just concluded African Insurance Organisation’s conference held in Lagos, said the corporation came up with the initiative as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) to end drought, flood and deforestation across Africa, especially, West African region.
She stated that the projects proffered practical solutions that could be replicated across Africa, adding that WAICA Re was ready to continue to support such initiative with $100,000 annually to ensure that Africans saw themselves as solutions to African problems.
According to her, the winner of the competition now becomes WAICA Re’s goodwill ambassador for a year, even as the reinsurance firm would support the winning project with $100,000, while such ambassador would have a cash reward of $5000.
At the conference, one Mr Ejike Nwankwo won the 2021 WAICA Re Champions Award, with his entry on how to manage plastic waste to prevent flooding and the corporation promised to finance this initiative to the tune of $100,000. He also went home with $5,000.
Similarly, Uduakobong Inyang, won cash prize of $3000 as first runners-up while $2000 prize went to Chinwe Anthonia Umeobi of African Alliance Insurance Plc as the 2nd runners-up.
Zakariah, said the corporation came up with the initiative as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to end drought, flood and deforestation across Africa, especially, West African region.
“There will also be 1st and 2nd runners-up with cash awards of $3000 and $2000 respectively, she stressed.
Also speaking, the immediate past Secretary General, AIO, Prisca Soares, said, the devastating effects of natural disasters, which might also be linked to climate change in most countries on the continent was better imagined, adding that, the untold and undocumented hardship on the communities and worsening poverty situations, were gaps insurance policies did not cover.
“So, beyond insurance policies, we must find practical solutions to some of these natural disasters as responsible citizens and corporate organisations. We may not have the power to stop natural disasters. Still, we can pull resources to alleviate their impact and reduce their frequency when we remove the human contributory factors,” she pointed out.
While applauding WAICA Re for spearheading such an initiative in West Africa by focusing its attention on finding practical solutions to natural disasters in the region, she added that, WAICA Re’s maiden edition of the CSR Competition and Ambassador for 2021 had been able to push discussions on the environment to the forefront of burning issues.
According to Soares, the competition, will continue as an annual event to be extended to the rest of Africa and beyond, supporting WAICA Re’s vision, mission, and global outlook.
”The three winners that emerged from the maiden edition of the competition are here this evening to receive their awards for finding practical solutions to natural disasters in West Africa. The top winner will be crowned as the WAICA Re Ambassador for 2021. WAICA Re will also be committing $100,000 as funding for the winning project. The criteria for the winning project have been designed such that the project’s sustainability outlives the initial execution”, she said.
