The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), renewing their partnership to tackle food insecurity and strengthen regional resilience, as Southern Africa continues to recover from climate shocks, food insecurity, and humanitarian needs.
SADC Executive Secretary His Excellency Mr. Elias Magosi and WFP Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa His Excellency Mr. Eric Perdison signed the renewed MoU in Gaborone, Botswana on 28th April 2026. The MoU replaces the previous one that expired in 2024.
The SADC-WFP MoU provides a framework of cooperation to contribute to improved food and nutrition security in the SADC region with the view to reducing social and economic vulnerability of the SADC population.
H.E. Magosi hailed the signing of the MoU as a reaffirmation of a partnership that has grown stronger and remains relevant to the people of the SADC region in addressing the pressing challenges posed by climate change and food insecurity.
The SADC Executive Secretary applauded the inclusion of the youth as one of ley areas of focus in the SADC-WFP MoU, adding that “empowering youth is an investment in stability”.
He pledged strategic oversight in the implementation of the MoU and a pragmatic partnership with tangible and impactful results on the lives of SADC citizens.
On his part, His Excellency Mr. Perdison reiterated that the SADC-WFP partnership will continue to focus on high impact results through interventions aimed at reducing vulnerability and ensuring that the Southern African region is better prepared to anticipate, respond to and recover from shocks.
The WFP Regional Director hailed the renewed MoU as an instrument that moves beyond projects to “systems strengthening,” by helping Member States put into practice the SADC’s strategic frameworks such as the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020–2030, the Regional Disaster Risk Management Strategy and Action Plan, the SADC Regional Resilience Framework, and the Climate Change Action Plan.
The renewed SADC-WFP MoU comes at a time when the SADC region is still recovering from the severe 2024 drought that triggered a US$6.4 billion humanitarian appeal.
The main focus areas of the MoU include.
Food security and nutrition; boosting climate-resilient agriculture, strategic grain reserves, and regional food systems.
School meals and social protection: Scale up Home-Grown School Feeding, which already reaches 22 million children, and link it to local farmers and nutrition.
Disaster Risk Management: Disaster preparedness which includes strengthening early warning, anticipatory action, and support to the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (SHOC) in Nacala, Mozambique.
The renewed MoU places women and youth as pillars for a resilient SADC region. In this regard, the MoU sets out to expand youth participation in agricultural value chains, strengthen skills development, and drive innovation in food systems. It also prioritises involving young people in climate adaptation initiatives and creating opportunities in data, early warning systems, and emergency response, turning their energy and creativity into practical tools for withstanding shocks.
Recognising that women are pivotal to food production, household nutrition, and community resilience, the MoU emphasises gender-responsive programmes that promote women’s leadership in agriculture, broaden access to technology, and ensure disaster preparedness and social protection to address the specific needs of women and girls.
Over the years, the SADC–WFP partnership has delivered several milestones including stronger regional Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis, with better data on nutrition, gender, and HIV; support for national school feeding plans and SADC’s entry into the Global School Meals Coalition; Regional food fortification standards and local procurement systems
