Lagos — the coastal capital of Nigeria — is sinking.
It’s long been a city defined by water, with a lagoon to its east, the Atlantic to its south, and canals spiraling through its ever-growing neighborhoods. Year after year, people have poured into the city at a relentless pace — fueling development that has accelerated coastal erosion, destroyed local ecosystems, and heightened flood risk.
But instead of pouring money into post-disaster aid, the United Nations Development Programme is experimenting with something different: insurance.
“Risks are endangering development outcomes,” said Miguel Solana, a global technical lead at UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility. “Can we afford to keep living as a society without managing these risks?”
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
