First drought conference set for Namibia in August

The first ever drought conference for Africa will be held in Windhoek on Aug. 15-19 to discuss short, medium and long-term drought preparedness, mitigation and adaptation measures in order to formulate a strategic framework for drought management.

A statement released Wednesday by the environment ministry said about 600 delegates from the continent are expected to attend.

"The role of drought resistant crops, adaptive strategies for drought-affected rural communities, developing safety nets and the possibility of establishing a global trust fund for drought events are some of the topics that will come under the spotlight at the conference," the statement said.

Prolonged drought periods especially in southern Africa has negatively affected crop, leaving 33 million people food insecure and 18 million requiring urgent help.

Five southern African countries - Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe, have already declared drought emergencies.

Southern Africa alone needs about 2.4 billion U.S dollars for drought relief in the 10 member states, while the World Food Program said it needs 200 million U.S dollars between October and December this year.

The Southern African Development Committee appealed in June for help to alleviate the effects of drought in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia. Endit