The incidence and intensity of droughts is expected to increase in Southern Africa over the coming years. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is known to be highly sensitive to droughts due to its dependence on rain-fed agriculture, the impacts of which can range from reduced water supplies to crop and livestock production, food insecurity and conflicts among competing water users. The negative impacts will be exacerbated by other hazards such as floods, advancing desertification and land degradation, as well as the region’s well-documented diminishing economic productivity, persistent food insecurity, extreme poverty and chronic vulnerability, which affect the majority of communities due to overreliance on agriculture for livelihoods. In order to mitigate these trends, the region has developed the SADC Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Strategy (DRIMMS), which is a 10-year road map to achieve region-wide drought resilience. The objective of the strategy is to enhance the capacity of the SADC countries to effectively prepare for and manage drought impacts. This will be achieved through a harmonised approached at regional level, using relevant tools in the UNCCD toolbox, to assess vulnerability to drought, strengthen institutions that deal with drought, and develop mitigation mechanisms.