By Conrad Mwanawashe
THE El Nino phenomenon has negatively affected the agricultural sector, with extensive crop failure due to water deficits, resulting in significant degradation of pastures and poor livestock condition.
To respond to this phenomenon, there is need for SADC to come up with accurate and finer forecasts that should include more parameters such as start of season, end of season and expected cumulative dry days or dry spells, Zimbabwe’s Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said while officially opening the 29th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF-29), Monday.
In response to the drought situation in the 2023/2024 period, the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government has launched a Regional Appeal to facilitate coordinated response to the various disaster affecting the region of at least US$5.5 billion to support over 61 million people affected by the El Niño induced Drought and Floods.
The SADC Regional Humanitarian Appeal was developed with support and collaboration of SADC’s cooperating partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), World Food Program (WFP) and other regional and international humanitarian agencies.
The Appeal serves as a call to the International Community, the Private Sector, and individuals of good will, to extend assistance in meeting the needs of the affected populations impacted by the devastating climate events.
But for a sustainable response to the El Nino-induced drought, which threaten our ecosystems, food security and socio-economic stability, Minister Nyoni said SADC member states should capacitate meteorological services for more accurate and finer forecasts.
“The Government of Zimbabwe has already started equipping the MSD with state-of-the-art weather observing equipment such as Automatic weather stations and weather radars in line with the Early Warning for All initiative,” according to Nyoni.
SARCOF-29 theme is, “At the frontline of climate action towards improved climate services in the SADC region.”
“In this light, I therefore urge all member states to adequately resource their national Meteorological and Hydrological services in order to implement the National Framework for Water and Climate Services,” she said.
The El Niño-induced drought led to national disaster declarations in Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Significant flooding in several countries damaged infrastructure and property.
Mapolao Rosenary Mokoena, SADC Director – Infrastructure told the meeting that SARCOF-29 encompasses more than just seasonal forecasting.
“It is about forging a resilient future for the SADC region through collaborative partneships, innovative approaches, and informed action,” said Mokoena.
SARCOF, held biannually, plays a crucial role in identifying climate variability patterns for the season, evaluating the past season and issuing an outlook for the upcoming rainfall season which will span from October 2024 to March 2025.
According to a recent SADC report;
(i) in terms of regional Health Status: the WHO declared a global cholera resurgence as a Grade 3 Emergency in 2023. Over 667,000 new cases of cholera and 4,000 deaths reported across African Union Member States.
SADC is multi-country cholera outbreak since early 2023. Drought-induced use of unsafe water sources likely to increase cases;
(ii) On Food security situation: the food insecure population in 2024 increased to 67.7 million people from 57.1 food insecure population estimated in 2023. The food insecure population represents 17.1% of the regional population.
The analysis of food insecure population is based on 10 Member States that provided data and include Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe).
At a country level, compared with the numbers of the food insecure population recorded in 2023, significant increases in numbers of the food insecure were recorded in Zambia (222%), Namibia (182%), Zimbabwe (80%), Botswana (61%), Angola (56%). The increased number of the food insecure population is attributed to the El Nino induced drought; and
(iii) disasters in the region: there have been multiple disaster types affecting SADC: droughts, cyclones, floods, landslides, wildfires, and rising sea levels. Seychelles declared state of disaster due to industrial explosion and heavy rains.
Madagascar declared a National Disaster on 02 April 2024 because of Cyclone Gamane which hit the north and northeast of Madagascar on 27 March 2024.
The Tropical Cyclone severely affected 89,465 people from 22189 households. Over 22,615 people were displaced and 19 people lost their lives.
