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We systematically review the health-financing mechanisms, revenue rising, pooling, purchasing, and benefits, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People's Republic of China, and their impact on universal health coverage (UHC) goals in terms of universal financial protection, utilization/equity and quality. Two kinds of sources are reviewed: 1) academic articles, and 2) countries' health system reports. We synthesize the findings from ASEAN countries and China reporting on studies that are in the scope of our objective, and studies that focus on the system (macro level) rather than treatment/technology specific studies (micro level). The results of our review suggest that the main sources of revenues are direct/indirect taxes and out of pocket payments in all ASEAN countries and China except for Brunei where natural resource revenues are the main source of revenue collection. Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Viet Nam have a single pool for revenue collection constituting a national health insurance. Cambodia, China, Lao, Singapore, and Thailand have implemented multiple pooling systems while Myanmar has no formal arrangement. Capitation, Fee-for-Service, DRGs, Fee schedules, Salary, and Global budget are the methods of purchasing in the studied countries. Each country has its own definition of the basic benefit package which includes the services that are perceived as essential for the population health. Although many studies provide evidence of an increase in financial protection after reforming the health-financing mechanisms in the studied countries, inequity in financial protection continue to exist. Overall, the utilization of health care among the poor has increased as a consequence of the implementation of government subsidized health insurance schemes which target the poor in most of the studied countries. Inappropriate policies and provider payment mechanisms impact on the quality of health care provision. We conclude that the most important factors to attain UHC are to prioritize and include vulnerable groups into the health insurance scheme. Government subsidization for this kind of groups is found to be an effective method to achieve this goal. The higher the percentage of government expenditure on health, the greater the financial protection is. At the same time, there is a need to weigh the financial stability of the health-financing system. A unified health insurance system providing the same benefit package for all, is the most efficient way to attain equitable access to health care. Capacity building for both administrative and health service providers is crucial for sustainable and good quality health care.

Health care costs have risen drastically over few years, and any medical treatment can makea dent on individual’s savings but with the help of these special health insurance plans, anindividual can give extra cushion to them and can come out good from these problems. Insurancemay be described as a social device to reduce or eliminate the risk of life and property. Under theplan of insurance, a large number of people associate themselves by sharing risk, attached to anindividual insurance plan that exclusively covers healthcare costs and is called Health Insurance.One possible solution to the above said problem was to reduce the financial barrier throughhealth insurance. Unfortunately, currently only about 10 percent of the population protectedunder any health insurance coverage. The most are for employees in the formal (Ellis et al.2000). The informal workers were unprotected and had to depend on those above poorly financedpublic sector or the expensive private sector to take care of its needs. The government is keen toincrease the insurance coverage and has even introduced special health insurance packages forthe poor (Times of India, 2003). Health insurance schemes are one way of guaranteeing accessto health care services. Under such schemes ideally, people should apply for membership andbe making monthly contributions so that in the event of any sickness; the health insurer willbe able to meet the cost of medical care. Health insurance plays important role in healthcareservice provision. It should again be noted that the health insurance market depends on policyinterventions to balance supply side and demand side forces. Demand-side forces would naturallyinvolve health insurance participation, and for credible policy interventions it may be importantthat those factors affecting participation be established (Mhere, 2013). Health insurance is thefast emerging as an important mechanism to finance the health care needs of the people. Theneed for an insurance system that works on the basic principle of pooling risks of unexpectedcosts of persons falling ill and needing hospitalization by charging a premium from a widerpopulation base of the community (Bhatia and John, 2000). Work-related health problems resultin an economic loss of four to six percent of gross domestic product for most countries. About70 percent of workers does not have any insurance to compensate them in case of occupational disease and inj&nbsp

This paper analyses the insurance schemes against losses from natural disasters, in place in the EU-28 for residential properties, showing their complexity and variety. The comparison leads to the following conclusions. First, very high insurance penetration rates are usually associated with the direct involvement of the Government in the scheme, while they are not strictly correlated to its voluntary or compulsory nature, also because many intermediate solutions have been developed by EU countries. Second, since the link between insurance and risk reduction is not automatic, creative supporting measures are being tested by insurance schemes across the EU. Their success is, anyway, often disputed and needs to be further investigated. Third, the way ex post Government compensation is shaped does not directly impact on insurance penetration rates, but a certain degree of coordination between ex post Government compensation and insurance programs has the advantage of improving the efficient allocation of financial resources in risk management.

We systematically review the health-financing mechanisms, revenue rising, pooling, purchasing, and benefits, in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People's Republic of China, and their impact on universal health coverage (UHC) goals in terms of universal financial protection, utilization/equity and quality. Two kinds of sources are reviewed: 1) academic articles, and 2) countries' health system reports. We synthesize the findings from ASEAN countries and China reporting on studies that are in the scope of our objective, and studies that focus on the system (macro level) rather than treatment/technology specific studies (micro level). The results of our review suggest that the main sources of revenues are direct/indirect taxes and out of pocket payments in all ASEAN countries and China except for Brunei where natural resource revenues are the main source of revenue collection. Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and Viet Nam have a single pool for revenue collection constituting a national health insurance. Cambodia, China, Lao, Singapore, and Thailand have implemented multiple pooling systems while Myanmar has no formal arrangement. Capitation, Fee-for-Service, DRGs, Fee schedules, Salary, and Global budget are the methods of purchasing in the studied countries. Each country has its own definition of the basic benefit package which includes the services that are perceived as essential for the population health. Although many studies provide evidence of an increase in financial protection after reforming the health-financing mechanisms in the studied countries, inequity in financial protection continue to exist. Overall, the utilization of health care among the poor has increased as a consequence of the implementation of government subsidized health insurance schemes which target the poor in most of the studied countries. Inappropriate policies and provider payment mechanisms impact on the quality of health care provision. We conclude that the most important factors to attain UHC are to prioritize and include vulnerable groups into the health insurance scheme. Government subsidization for this kind of groups is found to be an effective method to achieve this goal. The higher the percentage of government expenditure on health, the greater the financial protection is. At the same time, there is a need to weigh the financial stability of the health-financing system. A unified health insurance system providing the same benefit package for all, is the most efficient way to attain equitable access to health care. Capacity building for both administrative and health service providers is crucial for sustainable and good quality health care.

Countries around the world face a retirement crisis brought on by aging populations, declining birthrates, and fiscal shortfalls. As a result, policy makers increasingly seek to understand retirement savings patterns, a crucial component of the safety net for the elderly. Drawing on the 2014 Global Findex database, which provides individual-level data on the use of financial products in more than 140 countries, this paper examines how adults save for old age. It finds that about 25 percent of adults worldwide save for old age, with rates exceeding 35 percent in high-income Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development economies and the East Asia and Pacific region. On average, men are slightly more likely than women to save for this purpose, but the gender gap is deeper in developing countries. Worldwide, saving for old age is more common among older adults, more educated adults, and adults who own accounts. Adults in countries with English legal origin, and with high savings rates, are also more likely to save for old age. The paper also finds that measures to increase trust in the financial system, such as the safety net/moral hazard index based on deposit insurance, lead to higher rates of saving for old age. Finally, the paper finds little evidence of substitution between pension system provisions and contribution rates with saving for old age.

Those at risk from natural disasters are typically under-protected, possibly because they expect benefactors such as governments and donors to come to their aid. Yet when relief comes, it is often insufficient, delayed or misallocated. Benefactors may wish to commit to provide an efficient amount of fast well-targeted relief, and leave the rest up to recipients, but such commitments are difficult. This article analyses how transferring risk to third-parties such as private insurers may help resolve these commitment problems. Using a simple model of disaster risk finance is used to identify three distinct commitment problems and then show how various properties of risk transfer schemes can help to resolve these problems. The paper illustrates how these commitment problems play out using examples from around the world, and demonstrates where risk transfer schemes seem to have helped in practice. Overall, the findings show that the benefits of such schemes depend on the relative severity of the different commitment problems.

It is increasingly recognized that India is urbanizing rapidly, that urbanization is accompanying and contributing to economic growth, but that living conditions in urban areas are often not adequate, particularly for the poor. Health, nutrition, and population conditions are an important part of the urbanization equation. This paper explores the extent to which health, nutrition, and population conditions may be contributing to the benefits of urbanization, as well as the extent to which they may reflect its costs. This is an exploratory study that reviews available information on health, nutrition, and population conditions in urban India. Recognizing that national generalizations and statistics may mask considerable diversity in how the opportunities and challenges of urbanization and health are met in different cities across the country, this paper also draws on specifics of four case studies: Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, and Shillong in Meghalaya. The summary section provides an overview of this exploratory analysis, discussing the patterns and issues that emerge, along with policy implications in section one. This introductory section two briefly discusses how urbanization and health may be conceptualized, and describes the methodology of this paper. Section three describes governance and organization of urban health systems. Sections four and five review data on the demographic and epidemiological situation in urban India, as well as service utilization. Section six analyzes disparities in health outcomes and access to services, and section seven focuses on water supply and sanitation in urban areas.

Uncertain behavior of extreme weather events is critical for insurance because of the financial effects that it generates. In this context, the effects of climate change on the frequency and hardness of natural disasters are vital information in order to restructure the portfolio of insurance products. Creation of new insurance products and schemes focused on protecting against the risks of climate change is a goal of the insurance companies. The financial innovation in the insurance field allowed policyholders to better manage their risks in a volatile environment.

At the request of the government of Kenya and under its guidance, a team of national and international experts conducted an appraisal of different agricultural insurance options for Kenya.This appraisal, as set out in this document and the accompanying technical analysis, lays out the costs and benefits of developing large-scale agricultural insurance that involves both the public and private spheres.The analysis considers potential structures for large-scale agricultural insurance in Kenya, the fiscal cost to the government of Kenya, and the economic benefits for farmers and pastoralists. In order for it to partner with the private sector to prepare and implement a large scale agricultural insurance program, the government should consider taking the following next steps.The government of Kenya may build on there commendations by the Program Steering Committee to take the lead in formulating a national policy on agriculture insurance, in cooperation with county administrations and private insurance companies. The government of Kenya may develop a road map for establishing the institutions required for large-scale agricultural insurance programs, with the goal of covering at least a fifth of Kenya’s agricultural producers. As next steps for establishing livestock insurance, the government of Kenya may decide how to integrate the proposed insurance product with other existing protection mechanisms. As next steps for crop insurance, the government of Kenya may seek consultations with agricultural banks and work with private sector insurers to develop a data audit system acceptable to international reinsurers.

At the request of the government of Kenya and under its guidance, a team of national and international experts conducted an appraisal of different agricultural insurance options for Kenya.This appraisal, as set out in this document and the accompanying technical analysis, lays out the costs and benefits of developing large-scale agricultural insurance that involves both the public and private spheres.The analysis considers potential structures for large-scale agricultural insurance in Kenya, the fiscal cost to the government of Kenya, and the economic benefits for farmers and pastoralists.In order for it to partner with the private sector to prepare and implement a large scale agricultural insurance program, the government should consider taking the following next steps.The government of Kenya may build on there commendations by the Program Steering Committee to take the lead in formulating a national policy on agriculture insurance, in cooperation with county administrations and private insurance companies. The government of Kenya may develop a road map for establishing the institutions required for large-scale agricultural insurance programs, with the goal of covering at least a fifth of Kenya’s agricultural producers. As next steps for establishing livestock insurance, the government of Kenya may decide how to integrate the proposed insurance product with other existing protection mechanisms. As next steps for crop insurance, the government of Kenya may seek consultations with agricultural banks and work with private sector insurers to develop a data audit system acceptable to international reinsurers.

This issue includes the following headings: living on the edge in Mexico; what has the rise of China meant for labor markets in Latin America?; educating our future teachers; the growing and long-lasting effects of Brazil’s trade liberalization on workers; capturing food consumed away from home in welfare measures; a behavioral approach to water conservation; and using satellite images to estimate local poverty.

Russia’s population is expected to age significantly over the next few decades. The coming decline in Russia’s working-age population will pose serious social and economic challenges, but it can also open up opportunities. Without adequate adjustments of policies and behaviors, an aging population can impair national growth and fiscal sustainability. These pessimistic forecasts, however, are based on the unrealistic assumption that individuals and government policy will not change. Achieving healthy, active, and prosperous aging will require policy changes across a host of areas. Policies to support women can both limit population aging and increase labor force participation. Changes in behavior and policy can greatly mitigate the impact of aging on growth and fiscal sustainability. Promoting adult education and better age-management human resources policies at the firm level is essential to improve the employment prospects for older workers and raise productivity across the age spectrum. This volume presents research from the World Bank on the impact of demographic trends in Russia. The first section focuses on the macroeconomic impacts of aging and considers how aging has affected gross domestic product (GDP) growth and convergence among Russian regions since the early 1990s; it also offers alternative approaches to forecasting the relationship between aging and growth. The second section, dealing with the relationship of human development outcomes and demographics, discusses how family policies can help women have more children, and still attain greater and longer participation in the labor force. The last part addresses the role of adult education in improving Russia’s competitiveness and enabling longer and more productive working lives. A final section pulls together the main conclusions.

The Pacific island countries (PICs) are some of the most exposed to frequent natural disasters and climate shocks, and their vulnerability is increasing due to mounting effects of climate change as well as demographic and economic forces. Natural disasters hit the poorest hardest and have long-term consequences for human development. Social protection programs and systems have an important role in helping poor and vulnerable populations cope with the impacts of shocks as well as build long-term resilience. This paper discusses the potential role of social protection for disaster and climate risk reduction and management in PICs. It presents evidence and lessons from other regions, providing examples of tools and entry points for the development of climate, and disaster, responsive social protection interventions and context-specific recommendations for PICs.

Social protection can help build people’s social and economic resilience against disasters in Myanmar. Regular cash transfers, including public works programs, can help smooth consumption,build and maintain assets, and develop human capital to better cope with natural hazards. Disaster risk management (DRM) systems can be linked to social protection programs to trigger a safetynet response in times of emergencies. Community-driven development (CDD) programs could provide a useful platform for social protection programming to respond to disasters and build long termresilience in Myanmar.

Uninsured natural disasters can have devastating effects on human welfare and economic growth, particularly in developing countries where large segments of the population are in poverty and government resources and capacity to assist in relief, recovery, and reconstruction are limited. Therefore there is interest in exploring how these countries can design and implement disaster relief financing and insurance programs. This paper discusses four aspects of the microeconomics of disaster relief financing and insurance programs that are important for the ex post impact evaluation of such programs: (1) use of game setups to analyze the private willingness-to-pay for disaster protection through risk transfer or risk retention instruments; (2) use of ex post analysis of existing disaster relief financing and insurance schemes (such as Mexico’s programs) to analyze the willingness to provide political support to such schemes; (3) use of ex post analysis of existing schemes to analyze not only ex post coping with shock, but also the ex ante risk management impact of disaster relief financing and insurance schemes, with the expectation that the latter can have a large effects on growth; and (4) use of mainly global data to do ex post impact analysis of natural disasters and the resilience-enhancing value of disaster relief financing and insurance schemes (examples exist for the disaster-impact relationship that can be extended to the role of disaster relief financing and insurance in risk reduction, coping with shock, and risk management). The paper proposes concrete research projects to pursue the analysis of these four dimensions of micro-level impacts of disaster relief financing and insurance.

Thailand has succeeded in expanding coverage of publicly-funded and publicly-managed health insurance schemes, following the introduction of universal health coverage policy in 2001. While Thailand’s achievement of universal health coverage (UC) is well noted, recent researches and studies have indicated that there are still gaps in health utilization and financial protection. A recent study by Thailand’s health insurance system research office (HISRO) shows that utilization of health services by patients of three main health insurance schemes combined increased markedly after age 45 for both outpatient care and in-patient care but later dropped during an advanced age. Utilization of out-patient care services decreases among patients who are over 75 years of age while that of in-patient care services decreases after 85 years of age. The objective of the study is to identify the gaps of accessing UC scheme’s care system by the elderly population, focusing on utilization and financial protection aspects. The team conducted small-scale area-based qualitative case studies, focusing on elderly UC members who live in selected urban and rural areas in four different geographical regions of Thailand - Central, North, Northeastern, and South. The analysis confirms that there are poor elderly people who still need to pay for the costs of out-patient and in-patient care services at publicly run health facilities.

In the past decade, Latin America and the Caribbean has achieved impressive social and economic successes. For the first time in history, more people are in the middle class than in poverty. Inequality, although still high, declined markedly. Growth, jobs and effective social programs have transformed the lives of millions. In a striking departure from the crisis-prone Latin America of the past, the region has shown it is better prepared to weather the brunt of the global economic slowdown. Now, the region faces the challenge of maintaining and expanding its hard won gains in an adverse context of low growth. This is caused in part by a decrease in commodity prices and reduced economic activity in major commercial partners such as China. In such a scenario, achieving development results - and learning from them - becomes more important. This publication showcases stories about people and how their lives have been improved through better health and education, youth employment, disaster recovery and preparedness, infrastructure, and more.

This study examines the role of social protection programming, and programming design and implementation features, that are prominent in fragile and conflict-affected states. The main objective is to build on existing, available information from a sample of fragile and conflict-affected countries and develop operational guidance that addresses policy, design, and implementation issues and offers operational solutions for social protection programming and policy making in different fragile settings. The analysis showcases the universe of social protection objectives that are evident in these countries as well as the programming trends, types, coverage, and expenditure patterns. The paper also examines dimensions specific to fragile and conflict-affected settings in implementing social protection and labor programs, such as social cohesion, the role of community-driven development, and postwar benefits. Finally, the study highlights social protection and labor program delivery in seven different country contexts, and discusses the country-specific programming options chosen to achieve the objectives and overcome capacity and operational constraints.

© 2015, Asian Social Science. All rights reserved. The study looks at the activities of the Regional Office of Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation (SIF RF) in the Republic of Tatarstan (RT) regarding national insurance coverage. The study uses instruments for correlation – regression analysis to identify the factors to increase social security payments. The authors explain the projected change in insurance fees against short-term disability and maternity; formulate recommendations for regional offices of the SIF RF aimed to reduce past due debts; identify the role of the RF Social Insurance Fund in providing sustainable macroeconomic development.

Several developing economies have recently introduced conditional cash transfer programs, which provide money to poor families contingent on certain behavior, usually investments in human capital, such as sending children to school or bringing them to health centers. The approach is both an alternative to more traditional social assistance programs and a demand-side complement to the supply of health and education services. Unlike most development initiatives, conditional cash transfer programs have been subject to rigorous evaluations of their effectiveness using experimental or quasi-experimental methods. Evaluation results for programs launched in Colombia, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Turkey reveal successes in addressing many of the failures in delivering social assistance, such as weak poverty targeting, disincentive effects, and limited welfare impacts. There is clear evidence of success from the first generation of programs in Colombia, Mexico, and Nicaragua in increasing enrollment rates, improving preventive health care, and raising household consumption. Many questions remain unanswered, however, including the potential of conditional cash transfer programs to function well under different conditions, to address a broader range of challenges among poor and vulnerable populations, and to prevent the intergenerational transmission of poverty.

Over the past dozen years, policymakers have largely abandoned long-standing popular approaches for addressing risk in agriculture without fully resolving the question of how best to manage the negative consequences of volatile agricultural markets. The article reviews the transition from past policies and describes current approaches that distinguish between the trade-related fiscal consequences of commodity market volatility and the consequences of price and production risks for vulnerable rural households and communities. Current policies rely more heavily on markets, even though markets for risk are incomplete in numerous ways. The benefits and limitations of market-based instruments are examined in the context of risk management strategies, and innovative approaches to extend the reach of risk markets are discussed.

Verification in results-based financing (RBF) mechanisms is one of the key differentiators between it and related health financing structures such as social health insurance. Verifying that providers have achieved reported performance in RBF mechanisms is considered a crucial part of program implementation and key to maintaining trust through transparency, as well as the viability of the mechanism. Verification is however a process which has thus far been little studied. Information on the methodologies used in different settings (including frequency and sampling methodology), the effectiveness of the verification process, the direct and tangential effects, and the cost is scarce. Plan Nacer employs one of the largest RBF mechanisms in the world and is therefore an excellent case study for the role, methodology and effects of the verification process. This study will give the background to Plan Nacer, detail the major characteristics of the verification process and draw lessons on the process which can inform the design of verification in RBF mechanisms in other countries.

A low-income country, Ethiopia has made impressive progress in improving health outcomes. The Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation reported that Ethiopia has achieved Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4, three years ahead of target, with under-5 mortality at 68 per 1,000 live births in 2012. Significant challenges remain, however, with the maternal mortality ratio at 420 out of 100,000 live births. The government has introduced a three-tier public health care delivery system to deliver essential health services and ensure referral linkages, with level three as specialized hospitals (one per 3.5 million 5 million population), level two as general hospitals (one per 1 million 1.5 million), level one as primary hospitals (one per 60,000 100,000) with satellite health centers (one per 15,000 25,000) and health posts (one per 3,000 5,000). One initiative contributing greatly toward universal health coverage (UHC) is the Health Extension Program (HEP) that provides free primary care services at health posts and communities. The country is at its early stage initiating insurance schemes to provide financial protection for its citizens: Social Health Insurance (SHI) for formal sector employees and Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) for rural residents and informal sector employees. Public facilities are expected to provide exempted services for free, and there is a fee-waiver system for the poor.

Beginning in 2003, Turkey initiated a series of reforms under the Health Transformation Program (HTP) that over the past decade have reshaped the health system. Understanding the political economy of this process is important for the future of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Turkey, and also for many other countries and the development agencies that assist them. This report analyzes the historical context and complex political economy challenges of the reform. Our findings are based on stakeholder interviews and a review of literature. First, we identified five contextual factors that were important in bringing health reform to the policy agenda in Turkey, and were helpful in sustaining the reform during adoption and implementation: (1) a long history of reform plans and attempts; (2) fiscal pressure to reform the social sectors; (3) public support for health reform; (4) strong economic growth; and (5) favorable demographic conditions. Second, we assessed four political economy challenges central to the reform and the strategies used by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to overcome them. First, the MoH built public support for reform among the broad base of beneficiaries by focusing on highly visible and fast changes. Second, the MoH overcame well-organized interest group opposition to the reforms by splintering their support or delegitimizing their views. Third, Turkey asserted its own domestic priorities over those of the IMF and World Bank in cases of direct conflict. Fourth, the MoH circumvented potential political and institutional opposition to the large expansion of benefits and coverage through a carefully sequenced adoption and implementation plan that could be executed mostly without requiring the support of other ministries. This analysis also highlights important trade-offs made by the MoH with respect to the redistribution of resources, quality of care, financial sustainability, and physician satisfaction, which will all have to be considered as Turkey enters its next phase of health system development.

The text provides a detailed analysis of the significance and role of the principle of solidarity in compulsory and supplementary insurance schemes. The analysis is focused on solidarity as the benchmark when deciding on the applicability or non-applicability of the rules on effective competition on the market in the EU. The principle of solidarity is closely linked to the objectives of social policy, which demand special treatment in the intense market arena. The selected interpretations of the Court of Justice of the EU carry great importance, considering the discretion of Member States in the area of social policy. The text provides an elaboration and final remarks concerning the principle of solidarity which is able to shelter (more or less) the provision of insurance services in the EU.

The study analyses the strategies Ita-lian farmers use to cope with the risks that face their production. We develop cross-sectional and longi-tudinal analyses as well as analyses of correlation that underline the main differences between the way farms adapt their structure and management towards risk. The expected output is an analysis of farms’ approach to risk management in relation to the risk exposure. The present study is the result of research conducted by INEA “Research and techni-cal support on natural disasters, climatic and phyto-sanitary risks in agriculture and related policies”, funded by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies. The main aim of this analysis is to explore the potential and the limitations of economic tools for climatic risk management in agriculture of new CAP 2013-2020 in relation to farms’ needs, possible or necessary policies and future directions in the context of the Italian experience (National Solidarity Fund for natural disasters in agriculture, legislative decree n. 102/2004). The chosen approach for the analysis of demand consi-ders the climatic risk at the level of farms’ approach to hedging risks in terms of the use of technical tools (agricultural practices, pesticides, fertilizers, irriga-tion) and economic/financial instruments (insuran-ces, etc.). The results show a preference of technical tools and a strong need of a more integrated policy scheme, arising also from a new system and the potential synergies between risk management tools and other rural development measures of a more structural and management nature. The latter can contribute to a reduction of risk exposure and of the farms’ vulnerability, first and foremost through agro-climatic-environmental measures, production diversification, irrigation infrastructures, technolo-gical and management innovations and formation-information-consultancy.

Kenya has well-established insurance and banking sectors, both of which have demonstrated high levels of capacity through strong profit margins over time. There is high insurance penetration (compared to neighboring countries), sufficient levels of reinsurance capacity and expertise in-country and a ground-breaking innovative mobile money market. Kenya represents an excellent opportunity to make targeted investments aimed at increasing disaster resilience among vulnerable population using market-mediated solutions. Links could be explored to integrate market-mediated insurance solutions into social safety net programs, such as the Hunger Safety Net Program. Coordination with broader Horn of Africa resilience efforts (such as those of the Global Alliance and Political Champions Group) could also be explored. A technical assistance program could be established by donors, looking to enable the government to develop mechanisms and establish frameworks to execute such mechanisms. Property catastrophe insurance markets could also be stimulated. Insuring key public assets (of a given level of building standard) against catastrophe risk would create a market for private sector organizations, as well as demonstrate the viability of property catastrophe risk insurance in Kenya. Such a venture would ensure the critical mass is achieved for private sector insurance companies to invest and develop the market further, looking to compete and provide catastrophe insurance cover to other non-governmental organizations