Abstract

The Regional Climate Resilient Program (RCRP) for Eastern and Southern Africa is a multi-country initiative designed to strengthen regional preparedness and resilience against increasing water-related climate shocks, including floods, droughts, and other extreme climate events. Supported by the World Bank through the International Development Association (IDA), the program aims to enhance disaster risk management, early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, adaptive social protection, and institutional capacity across participating countries and regional organizations. In its first phase, the program focuses on Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and South Sudan, with technical support from the African Union (AU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO), and Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program Coordination Unit (NELSAP-CU).

The project implementation emphasizes transboundary cooperation and integrated climate adaptation interventions within the Nile Basin region. Key activities include flood risk mapping in the Baro-Akobo-Sobat (BAS) sub-basin involving Ethiopia and South Sudan; feasibility studies for flood management interventions in the Yabus River catchment across Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan; and transboundary flood risk assessment and management planning at the Elegu-Nimule border between South Sudan and Uganda. Significant progress has been achieved through stakeholder consultations, inception workshops, data collection, hydrological and socio-economic assessments, capacity-building trainings, and environmental and social risk management initiatives.

The program also promotes adaptive climate services and community resilience through awareness creation, training, and enhancement of flood preparedness systems at local, national, and regional levels. Institutional strengthening remains central to the initiative, with support provided to regional organizations, government agencies, and vulnerable communities to improve climate information systems, emergency preparedness, and sustainable management of water resources. Overall, the RCRP contributes to strengthening regional collaboration, enhancing climate resilience, and protecting vulnerable populations and ecosystems from the growing impacts of climate change in Eastern and Southern Africa.