27 Feb 2020
The state of disaster preparedness and climate resilience in southern Africa will come under the spotlight at a gathering taking place in Mutare, Zimbabwe, from 2 to 4 March 2020. This dialogue will also mark the first anniversary of Cyclone Idai and Kenneth which struck the region on 14 March 2019 and 21 April, respectively.
A little over a month after Idai, the region was hit by another cyclone, Kenneth, which made landfall in northern Mozambique. The aftermath of these massive cyclones resulted in unprecedented humanitarian disaster with millions of people left without shelter, food and water, and millions of dollars’ worth of damage to homes and public infrastructure. The cyclones exposed the dire need for a proactive approach to preparing for disasters by governments as well as rescue and civil societyorganisations in the region.
In response to this, seven organizations have formed consortium to convene a dialogue that will gather representatives from affected communities and other stakeholders in the region. The dialogue will reflect on lessons learnt from the cyclones and responses by various actors in the region and contribute to better disaster preparedness and climate resilience in southern Africa. Outcomes from the dialogue will be presented to regional government bodies towards ensuring relevant policy and practice reforms.
The partner organizations are Southern Africa Trust, Centre of African Philanthropy and Social Investment, Amnesty International, National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, Action Aid, Southern Africa Youth Forum, and SADC Council of Non-Governmental Organisations.
The will dialogue will run under the theme “Preparing SADC region for disasters in the age of climate change”. The expected participants are survivors, community representatives, first responders, government and civil society bodies from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
