The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has launched the US$5.5 billion Regional Humanitarian Appeal aimed at assisting member states affected by the El Nino-induced drought and floods.
This was revealed in a communique on Tuesday following a virtual Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government held on Monday 20 May 2024, observing that 61 million people are in need of humanitarian support.
The summit, which was chaired by the Angolan President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, and attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nancy Tembo, therefore urged member countries with surplus cereal to prioritize exports to others with deficits. Meanwhile, OCHA has pledged US$33 million while FAO US$10 million towards the fund.
The Department of Disaster and Management Affairs (DoDMA) commissioner, Charles Kalemba said this gives value to the consolidated appeals by states as Malawi faces the same challenge in 23 districts.
El Niño can make extreme weather events more likely in certain regions, including extreme heat, droughts, storms and flooding. Flood-related health risks are complex and multifaceted, ranging from hypothermia, drowning, undernutrition and injuries to infectious disease escalation and mental health problems.
Heavy rains and flooding affected nearly 205,000 people in Kenya, 179,000 in Burundi, 127,000 in Somalia and over 125,670 in Tanzania. The floods have also displaced 194,305 people in Kenya, 31,200 in Burundi and 8,376 in Somalia and left scores of casualties in Nyanza and Burera districts in Rwanda.
For immediate relief, there’s need to give locally as well as to national and international groups. When a disaster hits, local organizations in disaster-affected areas are often able to determine what their communities need most to recover.
The severe unprecedented drought in Southern Africa is having Catastrophic Consequences for the population. Urgent action is needed before the early start of the lean season, next July 2024. Prolonged lean season leading to significant food insecurity levels.
Around nine million people in Malawi are reeling from the devastating impacts of El Niño-induced floods and drought, which are destroying harvests and causing hunger to soar to crisis levels.
Heavy rainfall in some parts of Malawi in early 2024 has led to severe flooding. The flooding happened during the day when many people were at work. This meant that many families were separated by the floods, and people were unable to return home. Houses were destroyed or severely damaged by the flood waters.
