Kiir to travel to Kampala for East and Horn of Africa meeting tomorrow

JUBA – President Salva Kiir Mayardit will travel to neighboring Uganda tomorrow to attend a meeting of heads of State and Ministers of East and Horn of Africa, several government officials informed of the president’s trip say.

The regional gathering will meet in the capital Kampala from 27 to 29 July, to call for a more integrated approach and response to climate change, ahead of the 27^th session of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) that will take place in Egypt from 7-18 November.

The three-day Regional Inter-Ministerial Conference on Migration, Environment and Climate Change seeks to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on human mobility.

After four consecutive failed rainy seasons, the East and Horn of Africa is currently experiencing the worst drought in four decades.

Millions of people across the region have been displaced and are at risk of famine. The drought has already led to multiple deaths in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events resulting from climate change directly forces people to move, negatively impacting livelihoods.

These movements create new humanitarian needs and place pressure on resources vital for migrants, displaced persons and host communities, competing for already scarce resources.