SITUATION UPDATE

The winter season is nearing its end. There is a clear trend of rising temperatures after what has been an uncharacteristically cold winter for Swaziland.

There has been notable progress in the emergency response in several areas. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and FAO have accelerated distribution of seeds and agricultural tools. The distribution has been finalized in six constituencies, benefiting 11,695 households, and will be completed in time for the planting season in October.

Situation Update

The Water Crisis Committee (WCC) worked to expedite the response to the acute water shortage. The WCC drilled six boreholes and rehabilitated one water infrastructure at Lavumisa, an area in the Lubombo region with serious water shortages. During the upcoming week, the WCC team will focus on the Matsanjeni constituency in the Lubombo region. The team will determine drill sites for new boreholes and will identify any water infrastructure that requires rehabilitation.

After nearly two years of stable fares,

SITUATION UPDATE

Adding to the impact already felt by Swaziland's national drought disaster, the nation was racked by forest fires that raged for more than seven consecutive days in late July. Dubbed by the Swaziland Fire Department as "the biggest in Swazi history," the fires impacted three of the country's four regions - Hhohho, Manzini and Shiselweni. On 1 August 2007, the Prime Minister declared a second national disaster due to the devastating fires.

Beginning on Sunday 22 July, the fires were propelled by high winds and already-dry conditions. The fires began

MBABANE , 3 August 2007 (IRIN) - Swaziland has declared a national emergency in response to raging fires that have swept through parts of the kingdom, engulfing as many as 300 homesteads, killing livestock and destroying crops and large swathes of commercial tree plantations.

At least a dozen people have died, and firefighters have sought to contain the blazes because high winds have made extinguishing them an all but impossible task.

Garrett Lushaba, a firefighter in the central Manzini region, told IRIN, "Today we slept, but it has been two days since we slept."