Gaborone: Strengthening vulnerability analysis has become crucial in addressing food insecurity challenges in Southern Africa. An estimated 46.3 million people across seven countries—Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, South Africa, and Tanzania—are projected to experience acute food insecurity during the 2025/26 consumption period. As economic shocks intensify, timely and harmonized vulnerability assessments remain critical to inform early action, response planning, and policy development.
According to African Press Organization, representatives from 11 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States, along with regional and international partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Regional Support Unit, convened virtually from July 14 to 16, 2025, for the Annual Dissemination Forum of the SADC Regional Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis (RVAA) Programme. This event was succeeded by the 29th Steering Committee meeting on July 17, 2025.
Despite facing data collection and budgetary challenges, seven Member States successfully completed their national assessments and presented findings at the forum. These findings contributed to the finalization of the 2025 Regional Synthesis Report on the State of Food and Nutrition Security in SADC, which was validated by the Regional Vulnerability Assessment Committee (RVAC).
Looking ahead, FAO will continue engaging with SADC Member States and partners to improve the quality and coverage of vulnerability assessments across the region. This effort includes supporting the harmonization of tools and methodologies, promoting digital data collection systems, and fostering cross-country learning and peer-to-peer exchange. FAO is committed to collaborating with the SADC Secretariat to strengthen the institutional sustainability of the RVAA programme and integrate early warning into broader disaster risk management systems.
The outcomes of the 29th Steering Committee meeting highlight the urgency of accelerating investment in regional food security analysis. The Committee called for renewed efforts to mobilize resources for the upcoming landscape analysis of existing national frameworks, which will inform the development of a harmonized vulnerability assessment framework for the SADC region by 2026. FAO will remain a key technical partner in this process, offering expertise to ensure that the proposed framework is scalable, inclusive, and responsive to the complex drivers of vulnerability facing Southern Africa today.