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Project Highlights: Strengthening coordination and information systems in response to drought conditions and other hazards in Southern Africa (OSRO/SFS/801/USA)

Countries
Mozambique
+ 10 more
Sources
FAO
Publication date
Origin
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Project code: OSRO/SFS/801/USA

Objective: To safeguard livelihoods, food security and nutrition of vulnerable communities and households affected by the drought and other hazards in southern Africa.

Key partners: Ministries of agriculture, Southern African Development Community (SADC), Famine Early Warning Systems Network, World Food Programme, United Nations Children's Fund and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Beneficiaries reached: Ministries of agriculture, SADC, Regional Inter-Agency Standing Committee (RIASCO), Food and Nutrition Security Working Group, Resilience Working Group, Non-governmental Organizations and humanitarian actors.

Activities implemented: Provided 12 food security information updates to monthly humanitarian planning events under the RIASCO platform. rained 25 national level analysts on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification for Acute Malnutrition Analysis Version 3.0 in Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
Trained 23 livestock specialists on Good Emergency Management Practices to strength response to animal health emergencies.
Trained 34 veterinary officers in Zambia on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) diagnostics, surveillance and monitoring tools to control the new East African strain of FMD.
Conducted 16 missions, including to Malawi to investigate FMD outbreaks and develop a response strategy, to Namibia, Malawi and Tanzania to build emergency response capacity to anthrax outbreaks, and seven to Mozambique to assist in the response to Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.
Trained 30 veterinarians and animal health technicians on Participatory Epiemiology, Participatory Disease Surveillance, syndromic approaches, risk assessment and on the Global Animal Disease Information System-Event Mobile Application.
Procured and distributed 900 bucket traps, 6 132 lures and 3 066 kill strips to control fall armyworm (FAW) in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia and South Africa and supported the development of a FAW Action plan in Tanzania.
Trained 30 FAW National Taskforce members on FAW Monitoring and Early Warning Systems (FAMEWS), risk modelling and impact assessments and trained 330 extension staff on FAMEWS mobile application.
Trained 36 district extension officers in Zambia on control of cassava brown streak disease and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus and produced and distributed 2 000 informational brochures to raise farmer’s awareness.
Procured 396 items to diagnose anthrax, 30 sets of protective gear (each set containing a mask, laboratory coat, gloves and rubber boots) for staff responding to the outbreak and produced and distributed 900 leaflets to raise awareness on anthrax in Namibia.

Impact:

Improved the quality of agriculture, food security and nutrition information at national and regional levels, with 85 percent of SADC countries utilizing information produced to inform response planning.
Strengthened early warning systems and response mechanisms for transboundary crop and livestock pests and diseases, building the capacity of government staff, particularly on FAW and FMD.
Enhanced disaster preparedness and response through improved national and regional capacity and coordination, with nine countries sharing information.