The last El Niño hit Southern Africa’s farmers hard. This time, the region wants to be ready before the rains fail. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) opened a four-day disaster preparedness workshop in Johannesburg on 20 October to plan for possible El Niño impacts during the 2026–27 rainy season.
The goal is “anticipatory action”: spotting risks early, lining up money and supplies, and stepping in before communities lose crops, livestock and income, SADC said.
Who took part
The workshop was organised by the SADC Secretariat with the European Union’s humanitarian aid department, DG ECHO, and the Regional Anticipatory Action Working Group. Participants included FAO, the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the International Organization for Migration, Start Network, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and World Vision.
Pumeza Tyali, head of South Africa’s National Disaster Management Centre, opened the meeting on behalf of the host government.
The SADC opening update did not provide loss estimates or announce an approved response plan. The test is whether forecasts can be turned into action quickly enough to matter for families who depend on the coming harvest.
