9th Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction | Windhoek, Namibia | 21–24 October 2024
Big conferences can feel far from the communities they serve. The 9th Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (AfRP-9) in Windhoek drew over 800 delegates from across the continent. Ministers, UN officials and heads of delegation filled the halls.
SAFOD made sure persons with disabilities had a voice in that room.
Who Attended the Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction?
Representatives from SAFOD, FEDOMA, ZAFOD and FODPZ attended together. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the African Union and SADC organised the event.
SAFOD at the Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
The Marketplace Booth
For three days, 22 to 24 October, the team ran a booth at the conference marketplace. The theme was Promoting meaningful participation of persons with disabilities as agents of change in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
This was not a passive display. The team spoke with delegates and handed out advocacy materials. The booth started talks that go beyond the conference hall.
The Working Session at the Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
On 23 October, SAFOD’s Ashllah Mmusi joined a working session with CBM and other DRR experts. She shared lessons from SAFOD’s regional work on disability inclusion in DRR.
Her key points were clear:
- More persons with disabilities now take part in regional and global DRR platforms, and that matters.
- Climate change adaptation plans must be inclusive and accessible.
- Community work, such as demonstration plots, builds resilience from the ground up.
These ideas are not abstract. They come from three years of field work in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia. See the Gwembe field visit for one example.
What the Windhoek Declaration Said
The conference closed with the Windhoek Declaration. It called on governments, regional bodies and civil society to build DRR strategies that are people-centred and disability-inclusive.
That wording is no accident. It reflects years of steady pressure from groups like SAFOD.
New Doors Opened at the Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
Beyond the formal sessions, the conference gave the SAFOD team direct access to possible new partners and investors in DRR. Such links take time to build. Showing up often, in public and with evidence, is how it is done.
AfRP-9 was one more step toward a simple goal. When Africa plans for disasters, it must plan for everyone.
Read more about the advocacy training for OPDs, the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva and the 2026 DiDRR regional meeting.