Dr. Oliver Wasonga Senior Lecturer and Range Ecologist from LARMAT on 10th July 2020, from 4pm to 5.30 East African times participated in the Global framework on water scarcity in agriculture (WASAG) seventh webinar that was organized by FAO and UNCCD Drought Initiative. He was one of the four speakers with 150 participants in attendance.

Leading institutions on drought management, including the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), the UNCCD Drought Initiative and the WASAG working group on “Drought Preparedness”, organize this webinar.

COVID-19 does not discriminate, but its impact does. COVID-19 will have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable individuals and groups with precarious labor conditions, economies and those who are unemployed and those not able to work. Ongoing drought effects on the livelihoods and health of the poorest and most vulnerable people make them also the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and its effects on human immune systems, supply chains and economies. The global initiatives to achieve a green recovery offer a defining moment that could either strengthen or weaken current efforts to achieve a drought resilient and sustainable society.

This webinar discussed-

The pathways through which drought vulnerable groups have been hit by COVID-19 and left behind during the lockdown.
Point that they must not also be left out of the global green recovery.
The options and policy recommendations for an inclusive green recovery.
Ways to identify and mitigate the unintended economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 response and how to include drought vulnerable groups in COVID-19 decision-making and management by ensuring targeted messaging reaches all drought vulnerable group.