(ARC)Doc. EX.CL/1669(XLVIII)By E K Bensah Jr
By tradition, most AU organs are not compelled to proffer activity reports, but the African Risk Capacity is one such agency that regularly submits annual reports.At a time the world is about to experience an El Nino phenomenon that will create extreme weather conditions across the world, the AU believes it is critical for member states to pay greater attention to the work of the Africa Risk Capacity Group and its subsidiaries.
Founded in 2012, the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group is a Specialized Agency of the African Union established to help African governments improve their capacities to better plan, prepare, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters.
Using collaboration and innovative financing, the ARC Group enables countries to strengthen their disaster risk management systems and access rapid and predictable financing when disaster strikes to protect the food security and livelihoods of their vulnerable populations.
The 2026 Decisions of the Executive Council of the AU dedicates a full page to African Risk Capacity, starting off by acknowledging “the vital contributions of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) in enhancing the capacities of AU member states to plan, prepare, and respond more effectively to extreme weather events, natural disasters, and other emergencies.”
The document extols the virtues of ARC, explaining how it recognises “the significant benefits for Member States in participating in ARC programs, including access to capacity-building initiatives, advanced contingency planning tools, early warning systems, gender-sensitive disaster risk management, and ARC’s innovative insurance risk pool covering droughts, tropical cyclones, epidemics, and floods.”
For ARC to remain useful and functional,it needs to rely on predictable financing from AU Member States “regular payment of contributions and voluntary contributions.” Regrettably, many AU Member States are often found wanting in their payments.
The Decisions document stresses payments as critical for smooth “operations and programs”. In this respect, the AUC “urges all Member States that have pledged voluntary contributions to honour their commitments, in support of the ARC ’s collective priorities.”
Crucially, the Commission accentuates the necessity of “regular financial contributions” not only to enhance “ARC’s ability to respond effectively to emergencies but also demonstrate collective ownership and commitment to building resilience across the continent.”Very important takeaways from the document include the following:
**The AUC “takes note and supports the request of ARC to AU to appoint a champion for ARC.”
**It “further takes note and supports the decision of ARC to open a liaison office at AU in Addis Ababa”, which vacancies are already out in the public domain.
**A need for institutional synergy among AU institutions. The document calls for “the importance of fostering closer collaboration and engagement between ARC and AU Organs and bodies, including the continental civilian capacity mechanism for disaster preparedness and response, the PRC and Executive Council.”
Finally, as the AUC “calls upon all Member States to actively engage with ARC” so as to make “proactive decisions on disaster risk management and financing”, it also requests all AU Member states “to prioritize the ratification or accession of the ARC Treaty to strengthen ownership, enhance collaboration, and ensure the sustainability of ARC’s critical mission.”
Taken together, the Executive Council’s decisions reinforce ARC’s growing role as the African Union’s principal instrument for climate resilience, disaster preparedness and risk financing. Their success, however, will depend on whether Member States translate commitments into sustained financial and political support.
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