The Southern African Development Community (SADC) commenced the meeting for Senior Officials Responsible for Disaster Risk Management on 11th May 2026 in Masvingo, Zimbabwe.
The meeting serves a precursor of the sixth Ordinary Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Disaster Risk Management which will be held on 13th May 2026, amongst others, to consider progress on the implementation of the decisions made during the previous Summits of Heads of State and Government, SADC Council of Ministers and Ministers Responsible for Disaster Risk Management.
The meeting was officially opened by Dr. Elias Sithole, Head of National Disaster Management Centre in South Africa and Chairperson of the Senior Officials responsible for Disaster and Risk Management who noted that the SADC region continues to experience the growing impacts of climate change and disaster risks, including Tropical Cyclones, floods, droughts, wildfires, disease outbreaks and other complex emergencies which continue to negatively affect livelihoods, infrastructure, food security and economic development.
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