EDUCATION The drought has the capacity to affect children’s school attendance which may become erratic as water collection sources become scarce and further away from their homes. Unavailability of food caused by low crop yields in times of drought or unreliable rainfall is one of the main reasons why children drop out of school, as during food crises parents concentrate their efforts on getting food. Furthermore, global assessments indicate that 40 per cent of diarrhoea cases among pupils can be traced back to their schools, hence the urgent need to address WASH services in affected schools. This is particularly critical where school feeding programmes are planned/in place. In addition, the worrying malnutrition trends are likely to further influence children’s learning capacities and ultimately the accumulation of human capital necessary to build their future livelihoods. The longer children stay out of school, the less likely it is for them to return. Education in emergency preparedness and response plans are in place in affected countries, which identify the most vulnerable populations, their specific educational needs, budgetary requirements and those responsible for and capable of implementing response actions. RECOMMENDATIONS To mitigate the rising attrition rates and increase access to education, tailored humanitarian preparedness and response measures are needed. Priority gaps in education programming include hygiene in schools, affecting mainly adolescent girls, and the anticipated protracted water and food shortages. In severely drought-affected areas, schools require urgent support to provide them with potable water, hygiene promotion education and nutritious school meals to increase attendance rates. Due to the drought, school children are having to travel long distances to fetch water losing learning time in the process Source: UNICEF, Zimbabwe. WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH) Drought has its greatest impact on water supplies. El Niño has caused water shortages across the region, with many dams depleted or running dry, with serious implications, not only for provision of water for consumption, but affecting agriculture and power generation. Water authorities in Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe are rationing water usage because of low water levels. Water trucking to affected communities is already taking place in countries, including Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. In many countries of the region, investments in water and sanitation provision have not adequately kept up with the demand of population growth and productive services, especially in higher risk (frequently urban) areas, thereby increasing the severity of cyclical climatic shocks on already vulnerable people. The latest UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) figures show 75 18 per cent of the SADC region’s population having access to safe drinking water and only 46 per cent accessing improved sanitation facilities in 2015. Access to improved sanitation (%) 98 Seychelles 93 Mauritius South Africa 66 63 Botswana 57 Swaziland 52 Angola 44 Zambia 41 Malawi 37 Zimbabwe 34 Namibia Lesotho 30 DRC 29 21 Mozambique Tanzania Madagascar Source: SADC 16 12