The activities proposed hereafter are still subject to the adoption of the financing decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2014/01000
AMOUNT: EUR 7 000 000
- Context
The previous regional DIPECHO HIP for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean 2012-2013 was covering Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia. During the period of implementation of the programmes under this funding, several financing decisions were approved to address emergency needs arising from drought (Angola, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe), floods (Lesotho, Mozambique) and cyclones (Madagascar) cross-out the region. The situation on the ground confirms high vulnerability of the hazards exposed populations in the region and still lacking local capacity to prepare and to response to disasters. DIPECHO-supported programmes under current HIP will incorporate, even stronger than in the previous years, resilience-based approaches, contributing to holistic development strategies framed within regional and national policies.
The DIPECHO HIP for 2014 has a regional coverage, with special focus on the countries where DG ECHO has been repeatedly reacting in emergency interventions - aiming at emergency preparedness and addressing the context specific vulnerabilities with aim to enhance resilience of the hazards-exposed communities.
The 2014 plan targets the three countries prioritized in the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for this region: Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique. In addition, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have been integrated because large proportions of the population have been recurrently affected by seasonal food insecurity in the last three years. Any other country in the region targeted by the regional DRR initiatives will also be considered in the perspective of preparedness.
The Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region is extremely vulnerable to weather hazards, namely tropical cyclones, floods, droughts and strong winds. There is lack of resilience to the climate extremes-related shocks that negatively affect highly sensitive livelihoods and economies.
Repeated shocks erode communities’ ability to fully recover, leading to increased fragility and vulnerability to subsequent disasters. The vulnerability situation is further compounded by negative socio-economic factors prevailing in the region, such as high HIV prevalence rate, extreme poverty and high population density. The nature and pattern of weather-related disasters is shifting and becoming unpredictable, increasing in frequency, intensity and magnitude as a result of climate change.
Although some parts of the region have registered marked improvements in cereal crop production, due largely to government subsidies, food and vulnerability assessments indicate that rural populations continue to face critical food shortages due to reliance on rain-fed agriculture, declining soil fertility and land degradation.