This report is produced by Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 23 July to 5 August 2016. The next report will be issued on or around 19 August.
Highlights
Namibia CADRI Mission completed.
Namibia to host the Africa Drought Conference on 15-19 August 2016.
SADC launches USD 2.4 billion appeal for 40 million affected in the region.
Food insecurity is predicted to worsen from August onward; 578,480 people will be in need of food and non-food assistance.
Situation Overview
The Government of the Republic of Namibia reports that the 2016 harvest is 18% higher than last year but 31% below the normal average. However it is expected that these gains will be weakened by the anticipated La Nina phenomenon later in the year. This will impact on household food security throughout the country.
The Capacity Assessment for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI) completed its mission to Namibia on Friday 29 July 2016. The team, which was in Namibia at the invitation of the Government, started their mission on the 18th of July, as a follow up to their Scoping Mission in May 2016. The team comprised of 5 staff members of the Namibian Directorate of Disaster Risk Management (DDRM), 4 UN Country Team members and 12 International Team members (UNDAC and UN). The CADRI mission interviewed 21 institutions including 60 staff members at national level and 14 local institutions in 4 regions including 50 staff members. The mission analyzed the capacities, needs and gaps of the Disaster Risk Management system of Namibia including the DDRM, with a view to develop a plan for Namibia based on its findings and recommendations. The full report of the mission is expected in August.
Namibia will host the Africa Drought Conference from 15 – 19 August this year. The conference is a follow-up to the 2013 High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy held in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Enhancing Resilience to drought events on the African Continent’. The Conference will be guided by an agenda for action white paper document which will be distributed before the conference. This conference is especially significant as it takes place at a time when Namibia and many other countries in Africa are facing the worst drought event in over 35 years.
In addition to the five countries (Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe) which had declared national disasters, OCHA reports that eight out of nine provinces in South Africa that collectively account for 90 per cent of the country’s maize production are also affected, while Mozambique has also issued an institutional red alert for its most affected central and southern provinces. It is therefore expected that with the anticipated la Nina, the situation in the Southern African Region will worsen with over 640,000 animals already dead, 40 million people affected and 23 million people in need of urgent food assistance.
The SADC, through its Chairperson, His Excellency Seretse Ian Khama, President of the Republic of Botswana, recently launched its regional appeal at a ceremony attended by Ministers and representatives of Governments from SADC Member States, United Nations and Humanitarian Agencies, members of the diplomatic corps and regional and International Cooperating Partners. This led to pledges towards response in a number of countries, including Malawi, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Madagascar. Amounts pledged include Euro 60 million from the European Union and GBP 72 million from the UK. The World Bank might also contribute to the regional response.