N$300 million more for drought
The Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said this week the country raised approximately N$300 million to provide support to communities in the form of food and water supplies, as well as livestock support especially to those affected by the critical drought.
The Prime Minister said this during a handover of a humanitarian donation of approximately N$1.4 million from the African Union delegates who were in the country on a Humanitarian Assessment mission running from 23 to 28 October.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said that the government had managed to raise so far only N$300 million from the initial N$600 million that was required to mitigate the effects of drought.
“We managed to raise money from the funding under the Disaster Risk Manangement Unit policies and also through other government initiatives, but we are below the required amount,” she said.
According to the Prime Minister the donation by the African Union came at an opportune time for the country. She said that the country highly values and appreciates the initiative of the African Union to support fellow member states who are currently undergoing humanitarian emergencies.
“The donation will go a long way in addressing the gaps in our humanitarian response,” she added.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Lamine Yahiaoui, the Permanent Representative of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic to the African Union, said their mission was to assess how the drought affected Namibia and they also wanted to show solidarity with Namibia.
Yahiaoui said, on behalf of AU he hopes the donation will contribute to save lives. He was accompanied by Rahel Mesfin, Humanitarian Expert from the African Union Commission on Refugees, Internally-Displaced People and Returnees.
Meanwhile the Prime Minister said the drought has affected 729 314 people and the bulk of that figure live in the rural areas and are in need of direct food assistance. The Office of the Prime Minister estimates that more than 83,300 metric tonnes of maize will be needed additionally to take vulnerable communities through to the next harvest.
