Sub-Saharan Africa: Building Resilience to Climate-Related Disasters
IMF Working Papers, February 25, 2022
Source details
- Canonical URL
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Building Resilience to Climate-Related Disasters
Other formats
Bibliographic details
- Authors: Eric M. Pondi Endengle, Seung Mo Choi, Pritha Mitra
- Published: February 25, 2022
- Series: IMF Working Papers
Summary
- This paper assesses the impact of climate-related disasters on medium-term growth and analyzes key structural areas that could substantially improve disaster-resilience.
- Results show that (i) climaterelated disasters have a significant negative impact on medium-term growth, especially for sub-Saharan Africa; and (ii) a disaster’s intensity matters much more than its frequency, given the non-linear cumulative effects of disasters.
Key findings
- Climaterelated disasters significantly reduce medium-term growth, with pronounced effects in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Disaster intensity has greater importance than disaster frequency because of non-linear cumulative effects.
- In sub-Saharan Africa:
- Electrification (facilitating irrigation) is found to be most effective for reducing damage from droughts.
- Improved health care and education outcomes are critical for raising resilience to floods and storms.
- Better access to finance, telecommunications, and use of machines in agriculture also have a significant impact.
Policy implications and resilience-building priorities
- Prioritize electrification efforts that facilitate irrigation to mitigate drought damage.
- Strengthen health care systems and improve education outcomes to raise resilience to floods and storms.
- Expand access to finance and telecommunications to enhance adaptive capacity.
- Promote mechanization in agriculture to reduce vulnerability to climate-related shocks.
Content in this bundle
- Working Paper