ABSTRACT
The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) (2016) argues that sustainable development is rooted in healthy and inclusive societies, based on the principles of social, economic and environmental justice, while recognising the need to protect the environment and its resources for future generations. In the 2015/2016 agricultural season, all of Southern Africa, including Namibia, suffered a devastating drought, following one of the strongest El Niño events in the last 50 years (World Food Programme, 2016a). Drought as an effect of climate change threatens food and nutritional security and is accompanied by ecological degradation, loss of animal and plant life, and livelihoods (IASSW, 2016). Drought is considered a serious threat to sustainable development in Africa because of its far-reaching adverse impact on people’s health, economic activity and environment (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2007). Disasters (e.g. drought) are ‘increasingly important in social work theory and practice as they grow in both frequency and the number of people affected’ (Dominelli and Ioakimidis, 2015: 1).
