This report is produced by Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 1 October to 31 October 2016. The next issue will be published around 30 November 2016.
Highlights
African Union visits Namibia on Drought Response
US OFDA Mission in Namibia on Drought Situation
Weather and Climate-Related Disasters Double
Namibia Celebrates International Day for Disaster Reduction.
578,480 People affected, 25% of population
$ 44 m. Required by Government for response
Situation Overview
The Regional Inter-Agency Standing Committee - RIASCO confirmed that an estimated $540 million of the $1.24 billion requested by its Action Plan had been received. According to the latest Food & Nutrition Security Outlook, an estimated 40.6 million people (22.5 percent of rural population) in southern Africa will be food insecure at the peak of the lean season and this is expected to last until March 2017. It was estimated that over 513,000 children under five need treatment for severe acute malnutrition, while over 777,180 children are in need of moderate acute malnutrition treatment until the end of 2016. The nutrition and HIV situation is likely to deteriorate during the lean season as a consequence of the situation. The Food and Nutrition Security Working Group reports that assistance coverage has been affected by the funding shortfall.
The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction analysis of the past twenty years indicates that the number of weather and climate-related disasters more than doubled over the past 40 years, accounting for 6,391 events between 1996 and 2015. This is a marked difference from the 3,017 events between 1976 and 1995. This has prompted the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon to call on all governments to move from managing disasters to managing risks and promote collaboration for prevention action and resilience building.
The African Union’s Department of Political Affairs and Permanent Representative Committee (PRC), Sub-Committee on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons visited Namibia from the 24 – 27 October 2016. The visit was part of a two-country visit to the Southern African Region to get a better understanding of the effects of the el-Ninoinduced drought affecting over 40 million people. During the mission, the delegation visited some of the regions in Namibia that were most affected by the drought and met with government authorities as well as other stakeholders. The mission also announced USD100,000 donation to the Namibian government towards the drought response.
The United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) regional office in Pretoria also visited Namibia from 24-28 October to conduct a rapid assessment on humanitarian needs and assistance options. The team spent 3 days in the northern regions after a day of preliminary meetings in Windhoek. The delegation visited the UN on 24 October and was briefed by the Emergency Humanitarian Focal Points (EHFP) on the drought situation and the response of the UN in support of government efforts.
Namibia celebrated the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDR) on the 13 October this year. Under the theme "Live to Tell: Raising Awareness, Reducing Mortality", the event was hosted by the Region of Kunene and saw the attendance of over 2500 participants. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Hon. Netumbo Nandi- Ndaitwah chaired the occasion. An event was later hosted by the City of Windhoek on the 15th October. On both occasions, awareness on disasters was emphasised, along with the message of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon launching the “Sendai Seven Campaign: Seven Targets, Seven Years”. The Secretary-General announced that this year was focused on reducing loss of life.