The number of people going hungry in the SADC region is increasing – not decreasing.

The SADC Regional Food Security Conference said numerous reasons lie behind the region's growing food crisis – climate change, imposed market-based policies, mismanagement of grain reserves, questionable government policies, and unjust trade agreements such as the Economic Partnership Agreements. Delegates made a call for action by SADC and outlined what needs to be done.

People in Zambia’s Copper Belt live in deplorable conditions even though the area is rich in deposits of gold and copper.

Religious leaders have expressed concern at the deterioration of social utilities and amenities, but the government has stayed silent. So a new programme launched by the Council of Churches of Zambia couldn’t have come at a better time.

Civil society organizations from SADC member states will meet at their Annual Civil Society Forum during the Heads of States Summit in Kinshasa from 3 – 5 September. This year’s theme is “Transformation of SADC: Towards equitable and people-driven regional integration.” The Forum is a partnership project of churches, NGOs and trade unions undertaken through their apex bodies: the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa, the SADC Council of Non-Governmental Organizations, and the Southern African Trade Union Coordinating Council.