Swedish non-profit organisation We Effect has partnered with ICMIF to highlight the role of microinsurance in gender equality for a side event to be held during the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 2019) on Monday 11 March 2019.
CSW 2019, the world’s largest conference on women’s rights and gender equality, takes place at the UN Headquarters in New York (USA) from 11 to 22 March 2019. The priority theme for this year’s event is “social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.”
The ILO estimates that globally 40% of women in employment have no access to social protection. This side event hosted by We Effect, entitled Leave no women behind – how microinsurance can complement social protection systems, will look how microinsurance can help reduce women’s vulnerability and increase their economic empowerment (for example, by providing financial protection after the loss of the family breadwinner for example).
The speakers include two representatives from ICMIF member companies; Joanna Trygstad, Vice President – Business Transformation at Thrivent (USA) and Eve Thiong’o, Business Development Manager, CIC Insurance Group (Kenya).
During her presentation, Joanna will discuss the value of microinsurance in empowering women, and how ICMIF is planning to reach 5 million previously uninsured low-income households with microinsurance through the 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy (the “5-5-5”).
Eve will be speaking about the project in Kenya under the 5-5-5, which is focused on offering dairy livestock insurance to farmers. ICMIF, We Effect, CIC Insurance Group and Thrivent have partnered together with Belgian ICMIF member P&V for the 5-5-5 project in Kenya which launched in 2018, and which aims to reach 250,000 farmers with microinsurance over the next five years.
This event commences at 10.30, and is being held at the United Nations Church Centre, New York, and will also feature Ms Peris Njenga speaking about her personal experience of farming in Kenya.
About We Effect
We Effect was founded in 1958 to support the development of democratic organisations and societies that have the capacity to articulate the rights and needs of their members in respect of work, influence, services, incomes and livelihoods. ICMIF Swedish member company Folksam is one of the founding organisations of We Effect.
About the ICMIF 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy
The ICMIF 5-5-5 Mutual Microinsurance Strategy is a five year project based in five emerging market countries and aims to provide five million households with insurance cover for the first time to protect them from falling into poverty. The five countries ICMIF is working in are Colombia, Kenya, India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The governance of the 5-5-5 is overseen by The ICMIF Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales.
The 5-5-5 is predominantly supported by other ICMIF member companies and like-minded organisations in more developed markets, either through financial or technical assistance projects. To find out more about opportunities to support the 5-5-5, please email Naomi Davison at [email protected].
