IGAD's Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative assembly meets in Addis Ababa
The 3rd General Assembly Meeting of IGAD's Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRISI) convened in Addis Ababa on Friday (March 27). IDDRISI brings together Ministers of Agriculture or other relevant ministries from IGAD member states and representatives of Development Partners, International NGOs, Civil Society, non-state actors and private sector representatives. The Initiative was launched in 2013 with the aim of ending drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa through integrated development and humanitarian assistance oriented responses.
Friday’s meeting, chaired by Dr. Gebregziabeher Gebreyohannis, Ethiopia’s Minister of State for Livestock, reviewed the progress made since the 2nd General Assembly meeting held in Kampala, in March last year and discussed the way forward, reaffirming the commitment to end drought emergencies in the IGAD region. In a communiqué, the Assembly urged IGAD to invest in innovative strategies and technologies to respond to the challenges of climate variability and change; to promote the involvement of the private sector and NGO/CSOs in the programming and implementation of IDDRSI; provide regular and systematic progress reports on the implementation of IDDRSI Steering Committee recommendations; and expedite the preparation of investment proposals.
It also called on IGAD to ensure that National IDDRSI Coordinators were appointed for all IGAD states; produce a consolidated report on the implementation of IDDRSI since the 2011 Nairobi Declaration; to organize an IDDRSI Partners Investment Conference to coincide with the next meeting of the Assembly (to be held in March 2016); to strengthen national IDDRSI coordination mechanisms and establish the Gender and Resilience Working Group. It also urged Member States and Development Partners to increase funding support to all priority intervention areas; and called upon IGAD and Member States to review national and regional drought, disaster resilience plans.
The Assembly also urged IGAD to systematically identify areas in all member states where cross-border communities exist and design appropriate frameworks of cooperation for cross-border development; to build robust partnerships with dry-land (pastoral) communities; to scale up and expand linkages between humanitarian and development action; intensify early warning and early action mechanisms; and finally to pay increase attention to populations in acute humanitarian need and those who are chronically vulnerable, investing in more efficient and durable solutions.