Whereas livestock is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agriculture sector on the continent (accounting for about 9 percent of total emissions in SSA), it is also vulnerable to effects of climate change and has significant potential for contribution to mitigation efforts. These vulnerabilities are compounded not only by the uncertainties of climate change, but also by the potential for shocks and disturbances related to the spread of transboundary animal disease (TADs) and price fluctuations that characterizes the globalized nature of livestock value chains.

IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) in partnership with the World Bank Group developed IGAD regional strategy to build resilient and sustainable livestock to effects of climate change in the region that was validated on 5-6^th July, 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Hon. Dr. Fikru Regassa, State Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia officially opened the two day meeting. It was attended by thirty-eight (38) participant two (2) of whom were female, accounting for 5%, while males were thirty-six (36) accounting for 95%. The meeting made the following recommendations:

1. IGAD and the World Bank should incorporate the outcomes from the validation workshop and agreements on the priority intervention areas and share the revised strategy with Member States within two weeks (by July 20^th, 2022);
2. Member States, IGAD, and Development Partners should step up and revisit the scale of resilience investments in the livestock sector by streamlining climate change adaptation and mitigation measures;
3. Member States should review their respective or develop policies and strategies to mainstream and enhance response to climate change impacts on the livestock sector;
4. Member States should incentivize private sector investment individually or through private-public partnerships approaches in the livestock sector by creating an enabling environment to subsequently contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation goals;
5. IGAD, Member States, and Development Partners should stimulate transdisciplinary research programs in the fields relevant to resilient and sustainable livestock to the effects of climate change;
6. Member States and IGAD should engage in diverse resource mobilization strategies to ensure the implementation of this strategy and related actions and interventions to build a resilient and sustainable livestock sector;
7. Member States should domesticate and disseminate the IGAD Regional Strategy for Resilient and Sustainable Livestock, and programming for investment to respond to the effects of climate change.