West and Central Africa stand at a critical juncture where the compounding impacts of climate change intersect with conflict, fragility and other sectoral threats, threatening decades of development progress. Despite the considerable diversity across the two regions, many countries share a heightened vulnerability to climate change impacts due to a combination of socio-economic and political conditions, characterized by high levels of poverty, low government capacity, and the recent expansion of political instability and security threats.
This brief summarizes key barriers and entry points to scaling access to adaptation finance in fragile and conflict-affected settings across West and Central Africa. The Brief draws on more detailed research supported by the World Bank’s Scaling Access to Finance in Fragile Environments (SAFFE) activity and documented in an accompanying Working Paper. The research makes use of a range of inputs, including a detailed literature review and key informant interviews with regional experts. Findings from the Brief identify relevant opportunities for accelerating access to finance in FCS countries across both regions.