The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has revealed that they have identified key areas to reduce poverty and help with regional integration. This announcement was made at the closed door SADC Finance Ministers meeting which took place a few days ago in Gaborone.
Poverty eradication is at the top of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agenda. Poverty remains one of the greatest challenges in the SADC region, with approximately half of the population living on less than $1 a day.
Amongst other things, the strategy paper calls for the need to have media capacity building to enable them to objectively report on issues in the SADC bloc, including the harmonisation of information policies, and improve and reinforce internal communication systems within the SADC Secretariat.
The strategy paper also includes the need to keep the corporate image of the SADC bloc and wiser governing of the bloc’s trade mark, through the SADC Corporative Identity Manual, social media policies with capacity to aggregate contents and systems linked to the national communication structures.
The strategy paper is now awaiting approval in the upcoming sessions by the regional bloc.
According to the International Council on Social Welfare, hunger, malnutrition, Gender Inequalities, exploitation, marginalisation, high morbidity, and HIV and AIDS are a few of the complex challenges that contribute to poverty in the SADC region.
The SADC Finance Ministers Meeting ended yesterday (March 15th) and Botswana was represented by Kenneth Matambo, the minister of finance and development planning.
