PREFACE SADC Executive Secretary The SADC Council, at its meeting in Gaborone, Botswana, in March 2016 discussed the negative impacts of the drought which has affected the Region during the past two years. The severity of the drought and its effects led the Council to recommend the declaration of a Regional Drought Disaster and the issuance of a Statement of Humanitarian Appeal for Assistance by the Chairperson of SADC. Council also directed the Secretariat to establish a Regional Response Team at the SADC Secretariat to coordinate a regional response in close collaboration with Member States. Following this, the Secretariat established the SADC El Niño Logistics and Coordination Team in April 2016, composed of SADC Secretariat staff and regionally based United Nations’ Agencies. The main objective of the Response Team is to effectively and efficiently coordinate responses to the effects of the 2015/16 El Niño phenomenon on the Region. Through this document SADC issues a Regional Humanitarian Appeal for assistance. The Appeal documents the numbers of people affected and their prioritized needs; the ongoing responses and gaps at both national and regional level and recommendations for humanitarian and resilience actions. We are aware that during droughts and disasters of this magnitude, men, women, boys, girls, children, the elderly and people with disabilities are affected differently. Therefore, we appeal to all those involved in rendering humanitarian support to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place so that the responses work for everyone who is in need. The next stage includes resource mobilization and the continued and scaled-up provision of the humanitarian support to the affected population. We would like to thank partners who have and continue to support us in this endeavour. Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax Executive Secretary