Prudential Launches Climate & Health Resilience Fund to Address Climate Change Impacts

Prudential Launches Climate & Health Resilience Fund to Address Climate Change Impacts

(IN BRIEF) Prudential plc, a prominent insurance company in Asia and Africa, has announced a significant investment of US$2.5 million through its community investment arm, Prudence Foundation, to tackle the effects of climate change on health and enhance climate resilience, particularly for women. The initiative includes the establishment of a US$2 million Climate & Health Resilience Fund to support Prudential’s businesses in Asia and Africa in launching initiatives aimed at addressing climate-related health issues within their communities. Additionally, Prudence Foundation has partnered with Climate Resilience for All (CRA), a global NGO, to provide crucial support to women vulnerable to climate-driven extreme heat through the Women Climate Shock Insurance and Livelihood Initiative. This initiative aims to protect the livelihoods and health of vulnerable women by implementing early warning systems and innovative financial interventions to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat events. Through these efforts, Prudential aims to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and build more resilient communities in the face of climate change challenges.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 22-Apr-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Prudential plc (“Prudential”), one of Asia and Africa’s leading insurance companies, announced today that it has taken a further step in its climate resilience efforts. Through Prudential’s community investment arm, Prudence Foundation, the insurer will invest US$2.5 million into addressing the impacts of climate change on health, and developing climate resilience for women.

To address climate change challenges, Prudence Foundation has launched a new US$2 million Climate & Health Resilience Fund which provides additional financial support to Prudential’s businesses across Asia and Africa, empowering them to launch or support initiatives that address climate-related health resilience issues and contribute meaningfully to building resilience within their communities.

Furthermore, Prudence Foundation has also partnered with Climate Resilience for All (“CRA”), a global NGO focused on protecting women in vulnerable communities from the impacts of extreme heat.

Diana Guzman, Chief Sustainability Officer, Prudential plc, and Chair of the Prudence Foundation said, “Our community investment strategy is aligned to our business of offering protection, mitigating risk and helping people build a better future. We recognise that a changing climate impacts some communities disproportionately. Through the Prudence Foundation, we are investing in initiatives that assist communities in adapting to the effects of climate change and become more resilient to its current and expected impacts.”

“Climate Resilience for All is delighted to be partnering with the Prudence Foundation to bring urgent support to women bearing the brunt of climate-driven extreme heat. Helping women prepare for heat waves by bringing timely and actionable guidance to them and their families is crucial to preventing unnecessary illness and deaths. We are grateful for the financial support that allows us to do this scalable life-saving work,” Kathy Baughman McLeod, CEO, Climate Resilience for All.

Developing countries which generally have weak health infrastructure are the most vulnerable to the impacts of heatwaves, wildfires, floods and tropical storms which are increasing in scale, frequency and intensity. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone1.

The partnership with Climate Resilience for All will see the Prudence Foundation contributing US$500,000 to CRA’s Women Climate Shock Insurance and Livelihood Initiative (“WCS”). WCS is a new multi-year initiative that will protect the livelihoods and health of some of the most vulnerable women in the world from climate-driven extreme heat with several integrated resilience interventions including early warnings and innovative financial interventions.

The heat-health early warning system with actionable guidance disseminated primarily via WhatsApp is a key feature of the initiative. This is combined with strategic communications and targeted heat-health awareness to help women informal workers in India, prepare for and recover from extreme heat events, and ultimately, supports these women to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Prudential’s sustainability strategy aims to help contribute to the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) which include decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

For more information on Prudential’s Sustainability strategy, please visit https://www.prudentialplc.com/en/sustainability.

1 World Health Organisation

About Prudential plc

Prudential plc provides life and health insurance and asset management in 24 markets across Asia and Africa. Prudential’s mission is to be the most trusted partner and protector for this generation and generations to come, by providing simple and accessible financial and health solutions. The business has dual primary listings on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (2378) and the London Stock Exchange (PRU). It also has a secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange (K6S) and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (PUK) in the form of American Depositary Receipts. It is a constituent of the Hang Seng Composite Index and is also included for trading in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme and the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme.

Prudential is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc. a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America, nor with The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.

https://www.prudentialplc.com/

About Prudence Foundation

Prudence Foundation is the community investment arm of Prudential plc in Asia and Africa. Its mission is to create a better future for communities by making them safer and more resilient to life’s risks. The Foundation runs regional programmes as well as local programmes in partnership with NGOs, governments and the private sector in order to maximise the impact of its efforts. Prudence Foundation leverages Prudential’s long-term mindset and geographical scale to make communities safer, more secure and more resilient. The Foundation is a Hong Kong registered charitable entity.

For more information please visit: www.prudencefoundation.com

About Climate Resilience for All

Climate Resilience for All (CRA) is a global climate adaptation NGO dedicated to protecting women in vulnerable communities from extreme heat and all its impacts. CRA is passionate about partnering with communities to co-create and co-deliver solutions that help people now – and about spurring systemic change that brings a climate-resilient future to all. CRA’s motto: “When women are climate resilient, we are all climate resilient.”

Learn more at www.climateresilience.org

Media Contacts:

Kho Hui-Yi
Email: kho.hui.yi@prudential.com.hk

Sonia Tsang
Email: sonia.ok.tsang@prudential.com.hk

SOURCE: Prudential plc