The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Committee of Ministers Responsible for Disaster Risk Management will meet in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday to review the region’s preparedness to address disaster risks and mitigate disaster impacts.
A statement issued by the SADC Secretariat on Wednesday said the meeting, taking place in Kinshasa, will assess progress on the implementation of SADC programmes aimed at strengthening the region’s readiness to deal with disaster risks and minimising the impact of disasters.
The ministers will also sign an Intergovernmental Memorandum of Agreement among SADC Member States to establish the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre.
The statement said the meeting will receive updates on the implementation of disaster risk management programmes and the status of the implementation of decisions made by the SADC Summit of Heads of State and SADC Council of Ministers.
The meeting will be chaired by Peter Kazadi Kankolongo, DRC’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Security, in his capacity as the chairperson of the Committee of SADC Ministers Responsible for Disaster Risk Management.
He will be assisted by Angèle Makombo N’tumba, the SADC Deputy Executive Secretary in charge of Regional Integration, who will be speaking on behalf of the Executive Secretary of SADC.
The ministers will discuss a number of issues, including the development and implementation of the regional disaster risk financing facility and the operationalisation of the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre.
The centre is based in Mozambique and is intended to coordinate humanitarian and emergency support for member states affected by disasters.
The ministers will also consider the Regional Multi-Hazard Planning Framework 2022-2030, the SADC Regional Multi-Hazard Contingency Plan 2022-2023, and the proposed SADC Disaster Risk Management Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2030.
In addition, they will review the status of the activities of the regional vulnerability assessment and analysis programme.
The meeting of the SADC Senior Officials Responsible for Disaster Risk Management is preceded by the meeting of the Committee of SADC Ministers Responsible for Disaster Risk Management held on Wednesday and Thursday.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency