Message from the Country Office Director for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique

We have a shared responsibility of responding to these challenges and seizing all opportunities for fostering inclusive growth and sustainable development aiming at realizing decent work for all 'Leaving No-One Behind'.

Since its founding, the ILO has promoted equality of treatment and opportunities for persons with disabilities in the labour market. The positive contributions persons with disabilities can make to the world of work and society are increasingly recognized, and they are increasingly included in the development agenda.

According to the latest bulletin from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), about 68 million people in Southern Africa are suffering the effects of an El Nino-induced drought which has wiped out crops across the region and brought about the energy crisis in the regional bloc.

It stated that the drought, which started in early 2024, has hit crop and livestock production, causing food shortages and damaging the wider economies.

It is Southern Africa's worst drought in years, owing to a combination of naturally occurring El Nino - when an abnormal warming of the waters in the Eastern Pacific changes world weather patterns - and higher average temperatures produced by greenhouse gas emissions.

Countries including Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi have already declared the hunger crisis a state of disaster, while Lesotho and Namibia have called for humanitarian support.

Zambia continues to grapple with the impact of the El Nino drought which has had a significant impact on the energy sector among others.

The country heavily relies on hydroelectric power which accounts for about 85 percent of installed generation capacity, and the drought has greatly reduced water levels in reservoir dams, leading to severe decrease in electricity generation and threatening job losses as most of micro, medium and small enterprises fail to cope with the cost of doing business and in the production value chain.

Therefore, there is need to renew the social contract to advance social justice as the basis for lasting peace, shared prosperity, equal opportunity and just transition.

However, much remains to be done to ensure that the right to decent work becomes a reality for every person with a disability.