A meeting, focusing on the outlook and risks for drought and famines on the African continent in the year ahead, was held at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation's (Dirco's) offices, in Pretoria, on Wednesday.
The inaugural meeting, which was hosted and chaired by South Africa, welcomed delegates from the Drought Core Group (DCG), who would deliberate on the terms of reference and future strategy of the group.
The DCG is the outcome of the United Nations' (UN's) high-level partnership mission, co-led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the African Union Commission.
The DCG is a coalition of key humanitarian and development donors that was formed to keep the focus and attention on the issue of tackling drought and preventing famines.
Through the DCG, the members would consolidate their support and leverage urgent international assistance to not only provide immediate relief to affected people, but also to build their long-term resilience.
South Africa is the only African country to have participated in the high-level partnership mission and subsequently stepped up its humanitarian support and the chair is a recognition of that effort.
The UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian partnerships with Middle-East and Central Asia Rashid Khalikov and the UN secretary-general's humanitarian envoy Ahmad Al-Maraikhi were among some of the participants.