23rd October, 2020
An agency of the African Union, the African Risk Capacity (ARC) and the government of Lesotho, on Friday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to scale up national disaster risk management.
ARC said the MoU was meant to assist Lesotho to address the impact of extreme weather conditions.
Its Director-General, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong said “ARC will now committedly work with the Government of Lesotho to achieve the aims of the MoU.
“Our aim is to improve the country’s capacity to better plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and disasters for the food security of its vulnerable populations.’’
He stressed that African countries urgently needed to strengthen their disaster risk response capacities due to increasing extreme weather patterns.
According to him, ARC understands that natural disaster risks are not avoidable, but the consequences could be managed with the right tools such as we effectively deployed in many African countries that have faced similar catastrophes.’’
Lesotho government welcomed the MoU and pledged to implement it for the benefit of the people.
“This MoU will not just be an agreement for the sake of agreement. It will be implemented to produce tangible results.
“The government of Lesotho is eager to join efforts with the ARC to address the persistent climate risks faced by the country, especially in the context of drought.’’
In the 2019-2020 season, Lesotho experienced a 60 per cent fall in cereal production as compared to 2018.
Xinhua/NAN