27 Jul 2016

Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale, says the SADC region should put in place strategies to mitigate drought and other natural disasters.

Addressing a press conference in Gaborone on July 26, Mr Molale said accurate methods of predicting drought situations early were of paramount importance.  

“We have to improve our early warning systems, their accuracy and early predictability. With more preparation, we can mitigate these disasters,” he said.

Mr Molale, who is the chairperson of SADC ministers responsible for disaster management also said, “we can jointly work towards ensuring that these early warning systems are put in place”. 

He said there had to be good responsive mechanisms to ensure that no one died from hunger.

About 40 million people were said to be facing food supply problems due to the El Nino induced drought that has hit the region.  

Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe were countries said to be mostly affected by the drought.

According to SADC regional humanitarian appeal booklet released last month, 57 000 people were affected by the drought in Botswana with 38 000 of them needing immediate assistance. 

The entire region has a total of 23.1 million needing immediate assistance.

It said there was evidence of worsening malnutrition in some drought-affected countries and an increasing risk of mortality, particularly among young children.

It said worsening food insecurity and water scarcity resulting from El Nino induced drought were impacting an already dire situation of stunting among children under five years old. 

It further said as the drought had affected water availability and women spend more time searching for water, child caring practices were likely to be affected. Ends