SADC Member States partner with the African Development Bank and UNHCR to address forced displacement, fragility, and climate resilience in Southern Africa

To address Southern Africa’s pressing issues of fragility, forced displacement and climate resilience, the African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, co-hosted an inaugural technical meeting on ‘Forced displacement, Fragility Mitigation, and Climate Resilience’ on 26-27 October in Pretoria, South Africa.

The objectives were to strengthen the inclusion of refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless individuals in national and regional development plans, programmes, and strategies. The approach entails mitigating fragility risks, managing disasters effectively, responding to climate change challenges, and adapting approaches for resilience building purposes.

Southern Africa faces a range of vulnerabilities, including socio-economic issues, conflicts, and the increasing impact of climate change. Out of the 16 countries of SADC, nine countries in this region are among the least developed countries, with some undergoing transitions to middle-income economies.

The backdrop of the meeting was the recognition that conflict and climate change are two of the key drivers of forced displacement, including across borders, which places strain on the capacities of hosting countries and communities. Within the region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo faces the largest internal displacement crisis on the African continent, with 6.8 million people internally displaced. In Mozambique, there is an estimated one million internally displaced. SADC member states host 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers, including many of the more than one million Congolese refugees and asylum seekers in countries within and outside the region, as reported by UNHCR.

The meeting’s discussions emphasized the need for a shared understanding of the interconnections between forced displacement, fragility mitigation, and climate resilience. It was clear that the region’s development is hindered by these interconnected challenges, which require multifaceted regional approaches that focus on preventive approaches to build resilience at both national and regional level.

The meeting was held at the Bank’s Regional Office for Southern Africa. Twelve out of the 16 SADC Member States were represented at the director level. The SADC Member States present included Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The SADC Secretariat delegation was led by Mr. Anderson Banda, Director, SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC) while the AfDB delegation was led by Ms. Leila Mokaddem, Director General of the Southern African Regional Office (RDGS), and included Dr. Yero Baldeh, Director of the AfDB’s Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS). The UNHCR delegation was led by Mr. Valentin Tapsoba, Director of the Regional Bureau for Southern Africa, and included Mr. Sajjad Malik, UNHCR Director of the Division of Resilience and Solutions.

Key outcomes and decisions of the meeting included:

• The need to establish a holistic and integrated SADC-led program (driven by Member States) on forced displacement, fragility mitigation, climate resilience, to include the cross-cutting issues of gender, children, persons with disabilities, youth, and human capital development.

• Obtaining endorsement from relevant SADC ministers (climate, forced displacement) through a High-Level Ministerial forum with a view of obtaining formal adoption of the Joint Program and its subsequent mainstreaming into SADC regional programs and Member States’ policies.

• Strengthening regional and national capacities for disaster risk responses.

• Tailor opportunities for SADC-led regional cooperation to strengthen the inclusion of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons in national development plans while mainstreaming fragility mitigation, disaster, and climate change response and adaptation for resilience at the sub-national, national, and regional level. Provide technical assistance support to countries to harmonize approaches and share best practices.

• Establishing a Regional Platform and Community of Practice, for Member States to share experiences and best practices on forced displacement, fragility mitigation, and climate resilience and to foster decision-making and interventions based on quality data, research, and evidence.

• The meeting mandated the AfDB to explore options to support the Joint Programme, including identifying financing instruments and mechanisms. It called on AfDB to explore the possibility of convening a Donor Roundtable involving the private sector.

For more information:

AfDB: Erick Mariga: Regional Fragility and Resilience Coordinator, Transition States Coordination Office, Email: [email protected]

SADC: Nana Dlamini: Liaison Officer, Disaster Risk Response (DRR), SADC, Email: [email protected]

UNHCR: Gloria Muhoro: Senior Development Officer, UNHCR, Regional Bureau for Southern Africa, Email: [email protected]