Year in and year out, Africans in urban and rural areas numerously die and most lose their livelihoods to floods caused by heavy rains. With climate change, if African cities were to experience the same magnitude of disasters as witnessed in Europe in 2021 and Pakistan in 2022, cities may be wiped out.

Sadly, despite the growing awareness and engagement towards climate change and its effects on communities and livelihoods in Africa, we realise that very little action is being taken to sustainably combat the problem and protect the communities.  

The 2021 World Risk Poll by Lloyd Register Foundation indicated that ONLY 29% of Africans were prepared for disasters, and a higher +50% did not trust their governments or their infrastructure to support them in case of a disaster. 

With the growing population and poorly organised urban and rural centres in Africa, doom spells for the continent if immediate action is not taken. Therefore, time and resources remain our greatest ally, and as such, multi-stakeholder and community-led action aimed at building more resilient urban and rural centres is key. 

The RNP unites all stakeholders and actively involves those at the forefront of the crises with more profound knowledge of their communities in finding and creating systems and structures that safeguard lives, investments, and livelihoods.