By Ntombi Mhlongo
While the Kingdom of Eswatini is on course to develop a disaster risk management fund, there are concerns that it may not be adequately capitalised to meet the cost of loss and damage caused by the impact of climate change.
This was said by Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku when making his remarks during a high-level meeting on the mid-term review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
The meeting is taking place at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York. The DPM said inadequate finance slows down the implementation of disaster risk management plans and leaves everyone vulnerable even when the risk is known and can be prevented.
Read More: Manzini Council signs MoU for natural disaster preparedness
Besides the creation of the fund, the DPM said Eswatini will further institutionalize systemic risk monitoring through the development of a disaster risk management monitoring framework as well as through the
implementation of the Global Risk Framework in collaboration with the UNDRR.
Eswatini will continue to work with UNDRR and SADC to improve understanding of risk which is one of the priorities of the Sendai Framework for DRR. The country will also launch a National Platform which will ensure the active and meaningful participation of communities and all sectors of the economy in disaster risk reduction.
He mentioned that the impact of climate change manifested through prolonged dry spells, floods, and heat waves, accompanied by a high rate of unemployment has led to at least twenty per cent of the population living in chronic food insecurity. Government The government has provided safety nets to this population through cash-based transfers (CBT) for the longest period.
Read More: SADC solicits partners to bolster disaster risk coordination
“Although this is necessary and helpful in the short term, it is not sustainable, and therefore poses one of the biggest challenges for the country to sustainably tackle the causes of chronic food insecurity which we understand to be the impact of climate change,” he said.
He highlighted that to achieve the Sendai Framework targets and priorities, the Kingdom of Eswatini is currently reviewing the Disaster Management Act 0f 2006 which will strengthen disaster governance, to
manage disaster risk.
This review, the DPM said, is informed by the prevailing knowledge and best practices globally as well as Eswatini’s own experience gathered in the last seven years.
