This blog was co-authored by Nilesh Prakash and Meidyana Rayana (Global Shield Secretariat)
With climate shocks increasingly threatening vulnerable communities, the Global Shield initiative is demonstrating how pre-arranged climate finance, when integrated with adaptive social protection systems, can deliver faster and more reliable support to protect climate-vulnerable countries and populations.
Using pre-arranged finance to enhance adaptive social protection responsiveness: In Malawi, the Global Shield Financing Facility (GSFF) supports the government’s flagship Social Cash Transfer Programme by embedding a contingency fund and sovereign drought insurance into its design (see GSFF 2024 Annual Report for more details). This integration enables scalable and timely expansion of cash transfers to vulnerable households during droughts. Since the 2021/22 rainfall season, this scalable safety net mechanism has been implemented across multiple districts, reaching over 236,000 households with nearly US$20 million in emergency assistance following drought events. The predefined triggers, such as satellite-based rainfall data, allow for rapid fund disbursement, bypassing traditional delays tied to appeals and budget reallocations.
Meanwhile, in Ghana, the Global Shield Solutions Platform (GSSP) facilitated the purchase of a sovereign drought insurance policy from the African Risk Capacity Ltd. In 2025, when severe dry spells affected northern Ghana, the insurance payout of almost US$1 million was swiftly disbursed to the National Disaster Management Organisation. Although not yet directly linked to social protection delivery channels, this pre-arranged finance enhanced government readiness and enabled rapid emergency food assistance to around 40,000 people. The experience underscores the potential to strengthen integration with social protection registries and contingency plans for future climate shocks.
Both examples demonstrate how pre-arranged finance, when linked to adaptive social protection frameworks, improves four key dimensions of responsiveness:
- Scalability: Mobilising funds in advance ensures the capacity to expand reach rapidly across affected populations.
- Timeliness: Objective, pre-agreed triggers enable timely disbursements, protecting households during critical periods.
- Targeting: Leveraging registries and national data systems helps deliver assistance precisely to those most vulnerable.
- Flexibility: Systems can adjust modalities and coverage dynamically as shocks evolve.
Building on these successes, efforts are underway in refining contingency plans, enhancing data integration, developing gender-responsive protocols, and fostering cross-sector coordination in both countries. These steps are critical to ensure adaptive social protection systems deliver predictable, inclusive, and fast support as climate risks intensify. These impact stories highlight a transformative pathway: embedding pre-arranged climate finance into adaptive social protection not only mitigates climate shock impacts but also sustains livelihoods and boosts resilience. The Global Shield continues to scale such approaches by partnering with governments and other key stakeholders to make climate risk financing systematic, reliable, and people centered.
Disclaimer: all views reflected in this blog reflect the views of the authors, and not the views of the Global Shield initiative, its partners and donors.