SADC Holds Extraordinary Virtual Summit to Address El Niño-Induced Drought and Floods
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) convened an extraordinary virtual summit on May 20th, 2024, to address the severe impacts of El Niño-induced drought and floods that have devastated the region. The summit was chaired by His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola, in his capacity as the Chairperson of SADC.
Heads of State and Government or their representatives from 14 SADC member countries attended the summit, including high-level officials from Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Tanzania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa, and Seychelles.
Humanitarian partners such as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UNICEF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) were also present.
The summit began with a condemnation of the attempted coup d’état in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 19, 2024, expressing solidarity with the Congolese people and reaffirming SADC’s commitment to the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Key topics discussed included the recent climate and weather patterns impacting socio-economic development, and the critical need for coordinated, integrated responses to mitigate the widespread effects of El Niño.
The summit acknowledged that the El Niño phenomenon has affected over 61 million people, leading to severe humanitarian crises across multiple sectors such as agriculture, food security, nutrition, health, water, and energy.
In response, the summit launched the SADC Regional Humanitarian Appeal, seeking at least US$5.5 billion to augment domestic resources of affected member states. This appeal is aimed at mobilizing resources from national, regional, and international partners to address the urgent needs resulting from the El Niño-induced drought and floods.
The summit also highlighted the importance of proactive measures, urging member states to strengthen anticipatory action programs to mitigate climate risks, particularly with the projected La Niña phenomenon for the 2024-2025 season.
The SADC Regional Humanitarian Appeal will be updated in August 2024 to reflect changes in humanitarian needs as more in-depth assessments are completed.
SADC members and international partners were commended for their support, including pledged contributions of US$33 million from OCHA and US$10 million from FAO. The summit called for further international assistance to meet the urgent humanitarian needs.
The summit concluded with expressions of gratitude to President Lourenço for his leadership and to all participating Heads of State and Government for their collaborative efforts in addressing the region’s pressing humanitarian challenges.
