Mapping Hotspots of Risk and Vulnerability in the COMESA Region

The member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) had agreed to launch a customs union by December 2008 under which a common external tariff (CET) would have been imposed on all goods and services imported from outside COMESA. Even though the creation of the COMESA customs union was not achieved, it could have been a decisive step towards bolstering economic growth and alleviating poverty in the region. Not withstanding the failure to create a COMESA customs union, the welfare impacts of customs union are ambiguous.

Poverty and vulnerability are among the major problems in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA). To design appropriate poverty reduction initiatives for the region, it is not only important to understand the distribution of poverty but also the determinants. Various reports have documented information on the status, distribution and determinants of poverty in each of the countries.

The socio-economic condition in most COMESA countries is characterised by persistent high poverty levels and low food security. This is further compounded by the susceptibility of agriculture to climatic variability and other hazards as well as the vulnerability of impoverished and malnourished households to HIV/AIDS, market shocks and prolonged violent conflict. One of the biggest challenges governments in Africa face, with notably few exceptions, is the lack of sufficient financial and human resources to undertake the required action when disaster arises.