The Southern African Development Community (SADC) established the Regional Vulnerability Assessment Committee (RVAC) in 1999, a multi-agency committee that has spearheaded critical improvements in food security and vulnerability analysis at regional and country level. Current active members of the RVAC include the SADC Secretariat, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET), Save the Children UK, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The mandate of the committee is to strengthen national and regional vulnerability analysis systems in order to inform policy formulation, development programmes and emergency interventions that will lead to a reduction of vulnerability in the SADC region. In this respect, the RVAC provide support to National Vulnerability Assessment Committees (NVAC) created under the leadership of national governments to strengthen vulnerability analysis capacity at the country level.

OCHA’s role within the RVAC is primarily to ensure efficient flow of information among all stakeholders regarding assessment and monitoring of humanitarian needs and vulnerability. Other specific responsibilities include facilitating inter-agency support to the on-going RVAC initiative to reflect social sector needs in the vulnerability analysis, as well as facilitating technical cooperation in promoting data standards, and storing and disseminating data.