The Kingdom of Eswatini Achievements towards implementation of the Sendai and AUC POA
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the African Union Commission's Programme of Action provide Member States with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disasters. It aims to enhance resilience and reduce disaster risks and losses by promoting an inclusive and proactive approach to disaster risk management across nations.
The Kingdom of Eswatini has made significant strides in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the African Union Commission's Programme of Action. At high level, these achievements are as follows:
It is important to highlight from the onset that the Kingdom of Eswatini operates a parliamentary and oversight structure that functions through established subcommittees that focus on the different economic sector issues. The disaster risk management parliamentary subcommittee operates under the Deputy Prime Minister's office and plays a crucial role in facilitating DRR/DRM discussions, ensuring that relevant legislation and policy is enacted, and promoting collaboration among stakeholders involved in disaster risk management efforts.
The National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) is established through the Disaster Management Act (DM Act), 2006, as the principal institution for disaster risk management to promote an integrated and coordinated system of disaster management focused on decreasing vulnerability and increasing preparedness and mitigation capacity. The DM Act, 2006, is currently under review and will be replaced by the DRM Act, 2024, which is more aligned to SF and AUC POA. The DM Act, 2024, is alive to the changing and growing complexity of the DRM space, and shifts away from being response-orientated to disaster risk management and envision a disaster-resilient Kingdom of Eswatini.
Noting that climate change significantly influences the frequency and intensity of natural hazards through various mechanisms, the Kingdom of Eswatini ratified the Paris Agreement and has updated her National Determined Contributions (NDC), demonstrating the country is committed to climate action despite her contribution to climate change emissions being miniscule.
The country has increased its investment in disaster risk assessments, data collection, and early warning systems, especially for drought, integrating technology and local knowledge, creating a citizen science network to provide timely information to communities at risk, and awareness and capacity-building programs to improve risk knowledge and understanding for preparedness and resilience in Eswatini. An early warning technical working group has been established to enhance the ability to anticipate and respond to emergencies, thereby reducing vulnerabilities and improving resilience.
Drought being the major hazard with high impacts over the country, a proactive approach to drought risk management based on the 3-pillars of drought management has been adopted and a drought monitoring system established. The Eswatini drought monitor uses the composite drought indicator and was produced collaboratively by the National Disaster Management Agency, the Eswatini Meteorological Services, the Department of Water Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture (National Early Warning Unit), and the University of Eswatini, and it incorporates impact data as reported by those impacted. Further, the country is developing a national drought policy to provide a framework for embedding drought risk management within appropriate structures and strengthen national capacities to effectively prepared, prevent, respond, mitigate, and recover from droughts, protect lives and livelihoods, the environment, and the economy at large.
To improve risk understanding and knowledge, the country has updated the country risk profiles and mapped 5-high impact hazards: drought, floods, storms, tropical cyclones, and geological hazards, and to inform risk-informed and sustainable development, develop appropriate policies and resilience programs. Programs for integrating and mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into national and local development plans have been put in place, and to ensure inclusive disaster risk management, 34% of the local government or municipalities have been assisted to develop preparedness plans and DRR strategies. Anticipatory initiatives focused especially on vulnerability and special target groups are in place, including livelihood support programs and emergency response programs. The government is supporting smallholder farmers and vulnerable households with subsidised farm inputs and continues to provide decent houses to the most vulnerable households for personal dignity, societal well-being, and resilience building. With the support of international partners, the country is in the process of developing a single social registry to improve targeting and identification of those in need and minimise exclusion and inclusion errors.
Disasters cause huge economic, social, and fiscal losses, and with the evidence of increasing frequency and intensity associated with climate change, the country has found it important to develop the disaster risk financing strategy (DRFS) to ensure that adequate financial resources are available before, during, and after disasters and to support timely response and recovery efforts. The development of the DRFS has resulted in the development and operationalisation of the Disaster Risk Management Fund, whose regulations are currently undergoing the established approval processes. The disaster risk management fund is expected to play a critical role in building resilience, ensuring better preparedness and effective recovery, and building back better.
Disaster risk data and information availability and access have been improved through various interventions that include the development of the INFORM RISK Subnational model that provides detailed country risk profiling and assessment at the Inkhundla level through the selection and analysis of indicators that take account local conditions and available data. A web-based data sharing platform to enhance data sharing and offer access to spatial data and information for evidence-based risk reduction applications and informed decision-making has also been developed, including the Risk Data Information exchange platform supported by the UNDRR.
To ensure inclusion and integration of DRR in the education system in the country, engagements and consultations with the education sector have been convened and a DRR curriculum developed to be accredited by the Eswatini Higher Education Council (ESHEC) and to be offered as a certificate course and higher national diploma.
The country understands the value of partnerships in disaster risk management and actively participates in regional initiatives and collaborations aimed at enhancing disaster risk reduction, which also reflect the country's commitment to the African Union's objectives.
These initiatives demonstrate Eswatini's commitment to reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience in the face of disasters, contributing to the broader goals set out in the Sendai Framework and the African Union Commission's Programme of Action.