The 2023–2025 El Niño event was one of the most powerful in recorded history, and Southern Africa bore a disproportionate share of its consequences. Rainfall across the region was 40–70% below seasonal average in the most affected areas. Rivers and dams that had never fully recovered from the 2015–2016 El Niño were pushed to critical lows. And the communities least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that intensified this event were the ones who suffered most.
The Human Cost
By mid-2024, the World Food Programme estimated that 8 million additional people across SADC had been pushed into acute food insecurity by the El Niño event. In Zimbabwe, the government declared a state of disaster. In Zambia, crop production fell by an estimated 50% below the five-year average. In Mozambique, communities already recovering from Cyclone Freddy faced a compound crisis of drought, food shortage, and economic collapse.
"El Niño did not arrive without warning. What arrived without sufficient preparation was the response. SACCN's job was to help communities who had been promised support get what they were owed — and to help them build the resilience to face the next event, because there will be a next event." — Mr B. Guvava, SACCN
SACCN's Emergency Response
SACCN activated its regional emergency response protocol, coordinating with member CSOs across six SADC countries to deliver three interconnected streams of support. The first stream — agrifood emergency support — focused on distributing indigenous seed varieties from SeedForward's community seed banks, supplementary food supplies, and nutritional support for children under five. The second stream — water security — deployed rapid-installation rainwater harvesting systems and supported emergency water point rehabilitation in communities whose primary water sources had dried up. The third stream — psychosocial support — recognised that the mental health toll of repeated climate shocks is as real as the material toll, and provided trained community counsellors to affected families.
What This Crisis Confirms About Climate Justice
The El Niño crisis is not an isolated weather event. It is a manifestation of climate change that was caused primarily by wealthy industrialised nations, but is being paid for primarily by poor communities in Southern Africa. SACCN has used the crisis as evidence in its advocacy for loss and damage compensation mechanisms — arguing that emergency response funding should not come from development aid budgets, but from dedicated climate finance that recognises the historical responsibility of high-emitting nations.
Building Back with Resilience
Beyond emergency response, SACCN is using the post-El Niño recovery period to accelerate the rollout of longer-term resilience measures — expanding EarlyAct community early warning systems, establishing new community seed banks, and advocating for inclusion of smallholder farmers in government recovery programmes. Recovery must build resilience, not simply restore vulnerability.
