09 Jul 2024

In a move towards enhancing disaster risk management capabilities, Botswana is hosting representatives from 16 Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states in Maun for a comprehensive training and induction course.

Scheduled for two weeks, the training is also supported by SADC, United Nations Office of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), European Union, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF, UN Resident Coordinator Office (UNRCO) and United National Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) and operational partners based in Europe.

The primary objective of the induction course is to have strong SADC emergency response team that will be proactive to disaster emergencies as and when they arise in the region.

The training course is said to be also in line with government strategic goal of making Botswana a conference destination, an effective and influential player in international affairs.

Speaking during the inaugural induction course recently, Minister for State President, Mr Kabo Morwaeng emphasised the need to have a skilful and rapid emergency response team that could strengthen the region’s national disaster preparedness and response systems.

Disasters, he said would continue to have devastating humanitarian impact on the development of all the 16 member states of the region including Botswana warranting more money to be utilised to respond and avert the debilitating humanitarian effects.

Therefore, Mr Morwaeng said it was critical to continue capacitating member states to efficiently and effectively respond to all forms of disasters in the region.

“Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) has a critical role to play in preventing and mitigating kinds of impacts and fostering sustainable development for our region and this is the very reason Botswana has joined hands with all of you and decided to host you,” he added.

Mr Morwaeng said being proactive and lessening the impact of disaster if not preventing them by being ahead was their greatest weapon and they must take advantage of.

He said the last few years, the region had witnessed a global increase of both human and man-made hazard resulting in dreadful effects of major disaster and the region including Botswana, had their share of alarming disasters ranging from the recent COVID- 19 pandemic, the scare of Ebola epidemic, cyclones, floods, droughts, disease outbreaks and heat waves just to mention a few.

In 2020 while countries were addressing the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Idai and the recent Coronavirus pandemic, Mr Morwaeng highlighted that the region suffered yet another set of Tropical Cyclones including Belna and Eloise that also brought devastating impacts.

During the same period, the region he said saw the outbreak of the African Migratory Locust (AML) in February 2020 with a resurgence in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Mozambique impacting on food security.

An officer representing UN-OCHA and UNRCO, Mr Clement Kalonga said the training initiative was the brainchild of the SADC secretariat that motivated SADC ministers in 2017 to set up the regional strategy for disaster emergency response teams in the region.

“Here we are today having the first team of the regional emergency response team to be trained in Maun.”

Mr Kalonga hailed the move as a milestone and thanked Botswana for hosting and financing the training saying it could have been done anywhere in the world but appreciated that government had showed interest in hosting and supporting a lot of regional initiatives.

He also thanked member states for being  part of the initiative and all who worked on the design of the course content. Ends