In some instances regional working can help increase limited national capacity to tackle issues which are common to countries across the region. The UNICEF Children and AIDS Regional Initiative has supported 6 countries in Southern Africa to strengthen capacity at the national and community level to better meet the needs of vulnerable children.

Civil society organisations can benefit from regional networking, sharing lessons and best practice. In its advocacy role, a regional platform allows civil society to interact with governance institutions at the regional as well as national and local levels, providing an important space for citizens’ participation in regional integration. The Southern Africa Trust has facilitated this in the SADC region.

As the UK’s White Paper highlights: ‘To reduce poverty effectively, and allow each person to achieve their full potential, we need states that are capable, accountable and responsive and where a flourishing civil society empowers citizens to realise their rights.’ Political instability and poor governance are major contributors to poverty in the region.  The economic and environmental challenges in Southern Africa create conditions of highly contested political spaces which drive insecurity and lead to instability and fragility. The quest for a better life, more jobs, access to adequate health care and improved social protection, and safe and secure communities is made more difficult in a region in which there is increasing competition for scarce natural resources (like water and energy). The movement of people across borders fuels tensions and prejudices driven primarily by unacceptable conditions of poverty and vulnerability which in turn feed political tensions because weak states are unable to respond effectively. DFID-SA has worked with civil society and local government to increase the level of capacity, accountability, and responsiveness of government in the region, and will explore the potential of lifting this agenda to the regional level.