Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke, Harare Bureau
THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) is taking steps to enhance its food security strategies with key stakeholders convening for the SADC Regional Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis programme in Harare.
This initiative aims to review past challenges in the region while formulating a strategy to mitigate future issues.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, chairperson of the regional Vulnerability Assessment Committee (VAC) and Director General of the Food and Nutrition Council, Dr George Kembo emphasised the importance of providing early warning information to inform key policy decisions.
“Our focus at SADC is shifting towards strategies that address food insecurity, rather than merely identifying numbers. We want to recommend collaborative strategies that member states can implement to reduce food insecurity.
“The seasonal analysis has indicated a potentially good season, so with political will, we believe the region can overcome the hunger challenges it faces,” he said.
The meeting is particularly timely as the region continues to grapple with the aftermath of El Niño-induced droughts and floods, which have left over 56.8 million people facing food insecurity.
In response, SADC has launched a US$5,5 billion regional humanitarian appeal to support affected communities.
Dr Kembo indicated that the discussions would lead to key policy recommendations aimed at enhancing food security and resilience across the region.
He noted that different member states have adopted various strategies, highlighting Zimbabwe’s efforts to mobilise internal resources significantly to address food insecurity.
“You can see that no one was left behind and we did not experience catastrophic food security issues within our country. We expect a reduction in food insecurity across the region,” he added.
Dr Kembo also stressed the importance of regional collaboration in agriculture, social protection and the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to build resilience against future food shortages.
He said countries such as Mozambique are already implementing diverse strategies to boost agricultural productivity and enhance social safety nets, which could serve as models for other member states.
SADC Head of Disaster Risk Reduction, Ms Nana Dlamini, remarked on the region’s success in managing information related to vulnerability and livelihoods.
“The original vulnerability assessment and analysis programme was established to inform responses to a drought emergency in the early 2000s. Its core function has always been to aid decision-making in times of emergencies.
However, as the nature of emergencies and disasters continue to evolve in the region, we are now using findings from this programme to inform resilience building, social protection initiatives, budget allocations and state address reports across member states,” she said.
She noted that through Vulnerability Assessment Committees, member states can better understand the magnitude and severity of disaster impacts enabling governments to undertake essential life-saving and life-sustaining operations.
