SADC Seeks Nearly $2.7 Billion in Drought Aid

Southern African Development Community (SADC) Chair and Botswana President Ian Khama is expected to declare a regional disaster and appeal for international assistance by the end of this month due to ongoing severe drought.The SADC said in an emailed statement last week that once the declaration is issued, member countries would seek $2.7 billion USD in aid from international donors and financiers to mitigate the effects of the region’s worst drought in more than two decades.Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe have declared national emergencies due to drought, and eight out of South Africa’s nine provinces have done the same...