Nairobi, 27 May 2024 – The IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development hosted a Horn of Africa Regional Knowledge Share Fair, an event that was dedicated to disseminating results of resilience programming, focusing on IGAD’s Karamoja, Moyale and Mandera clusters in the cross-border areas of Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.
With financial support from the USAID funded Cross-Border Community Resilience (CBCR) project, master plans highlighting key priorities areas for interventions for each of the three clusters were generated. These masterplans were the result of co-creation process which brought together key stakeholders and community members in various corridors within each cluster.
The two-day event organised by the Centre was held from May 27-28, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. It featured several panel sessions covering different thematic areas in line with IGAD’s regional mandate, and the launch of the participatory rangeland management (PRM) guidelines for practitioners.
In a bid to promote sustainable development, peace, and prosperity by strengthening the capacity of stakeholders, facilitating information sharing & collaboration, influencing policy processes, & raising awareness about key cross-border issues, the diverse key stakeholders came together to:
- Evaluate the state of resilience in cross-border areas within the IGAD region by leveraging the existing IDDRSI framework for resilience measurement and sharing results.
- Promote livestock and fodder trade by strategically identifying and leveraging opportunities to enhance markets.
- Promote and share experiences and lessons learned in disseminating Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), regional agreements, regional strategies, and protocols among stakeholders to strengthen cooperation and resilience-building efforts.
The participants consisted of stakeholders involved in cross-border resilience-building efforts, including representatives from IGAD, Cross-Border Community Resilience (CBCR) team, members of the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) Platform, national and local governments, international NGOs, and local development organizations working in the three clusters, representatives of other IGAD projects, community members, private sector, and members of the IGAD Partners Forum e.g. USAID, Germany, Sweden, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Switzerland, the European Union, UN agencies.
There is a growing understanding of the potential of cross-border cooperation both at Regional and continental levels, including political commitments. Resilience programming and investment in these areas are based on the understanding that communities are homogenous, share common resources, livelihoods, and cultures and interact freely, irrespective of international boundaries.
This view has gained momentum due to economic opportunities created by cross-border markets and trade, as well as bilateral and multi-lateral agreements among regional states. Growing population in borderlands, improved infrastructure due to regional integration and state intervention, trans-Africa Transport facility, access to mobile telephones, revitalised local institutions, decentralisation, and democratisation processes among IGAD Member States are gradually addressing the root causes of marginalisation and extreme poverty.
Consequently, the thematic panel discussions at the Knowledge Share Fair were:
- Cross-Border Programming Initiatives: Process, Results and Lessons
- Climate Change, Conflict and Pastoral Mobility Governance Nexus: Promoting Pastoral Resilience
- Reviewing Challenges Regarding Animal Feed Security and Potential Opportunities in the IGAD Region for Sustainable Livestock Production in the Region
- Transforming the Livestock Sector in Pastoral Areas: Exploring Economic Growth through Market Access of Livestock and Livestock Products
- One Health Opportunities & Challenges in Human Diseases Prevention, Control and Management in the IGAD Cross-Border Areas, in the Midst of Climate Change
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