PSC-1/Doc 004 INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY ON DEVELOPMENT IGAD DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE (IDDRSI) REPORT OF THE 3RD MEETING OF THE INTERIM PLATFORM STEERING COMMITTEE 21 FEBRUARY 2013, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA IGAD Secretariat, P.O. Box 2653, Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti Tel: (253) 21354050; Fax: (253) 21356994/21353520 E-mail: igad@igad.int Website: www.igad.int 00 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly i 0 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 OPENING 1 ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 3 REPORT OF THE 3RD INTERIM PLATFORM STEERING COMMITTEE (IPSC) 3 STATEMENTS BY MEMBER STATES AND PARTNERS 4 WAY FORWARD 9 COMMUNIQUE AND CLOSURE 10 ANNEX I: AGENDA 11 ANNEX II: OPENING STATEMENTS 12 ANNEX III: MEMBER STATES AND PARTNERS’ STATEMENTS 19 ANNEX IV: COMMUNIQUE 45 ANNEX V: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 48 Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 11 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 1 REPORT OF THE 1st MEETING OF THE PLATFORM GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IGAD DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILTY INITIATIVE (IDDRSI) PLATFORM Addis Ababa, 23 February 2013 INTRODUCTION 1. The 1st Meeting of the Platform General Assembly of the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) was held at the African Union Conference Hall, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 23 February 2013. It was attended by delegates from Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda as well as partners in development (List of delegates is attached as ANNEX V). OPENING 2. The meeting was opened by H.E. Wondirad Mandefro, State Minister of Agriculture of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and Chairperson of the Platform General Assembly. In his opening remarks (Opening statements in ANNEX II) H.E. Wondirad welcomed all to Addis Ababa. He recalled the 2011 drought said to be the worst drought in decades, that left over 12 million people, mainly pastoralist communities, in complete distress. He noted that the Heads of State and Government of IGAD and EAC countries convened a summit in Nairobi in September 2011 to address the root causes of this crisis. The Nairobi summit urged collective action, and was dedicated to the objective of ending drought emergencies, once and for all, through building sustainable livelihoods in the IGAD region. The Summit called for the introduction of strategies, policies and programs that involved increased investments aimed at building resilience within member states and the at the regional level, and assigned the IGAD Secretariat the task of leading and coordinating the implementation of the initiative. 3. He noted further that, subsequently, the IGAD Secretariat convened a consultative meeting on 15-16 November 2011 with a wide range of partners, and unanimously agreed that the formation of a Regional Platform was the most effective way for coordinating the implementation of this Horn of Africa Initiative. 4. H.E. Wondirad expressed his appreciation for the determination and excellent work demonstrated by the Member States and development partners in the course of the preparation of the IGAD DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE (IDDRSI) strategy and the Regional and country Program Papers. 5. He expressed hope that the strategy and the regional program paper would rally all relevant stakeholders, mobilize resources for the identified priority investment areas, promote information and knowledge sharing, support capacity development at a regional and national levels and play a key role in coordinating interventions. 6. He called upon the partners who were already engaged in the struggle against poverty in the region and also those others who had yet to do so, to support the implementation of the IDDRSI strategy. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 22 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 7. 2 H.E. Wondirad concluded by wishing all fruitful deliberations and happy launching of the IGAD platform on Drought Resilience and Sustainability Initiative. Statements (ANNEX II) by: Executive Secretary of IGAD 8. H.E. Ambassador (Eng.) Mahboub Maalim, Executive Secretary of IGAD welcomed all participants to the first General Assembly meeting, thanked Ethiopia for hosting the meeting, He expressed his thanks to the many partners that have stuck with IGAD through the process and observed that with these commitments drought should never turn to famine again. He pointed out that this political commitment would be achieved by (i) addressing the root causes of drought through a regional approach, enhanced and proactive partnership and (iii) focusing on the ASALS. The Heads of State tasked IGAD to take the lead in coordinating this effort. 9. H.E. Mahboub highlighted some of the achievements so far including (i) mainstreaming and harmonising the approach, (ii) many consultative meetings organized at both technical and political levels, (iii) a common framework developed (RPP and CPPs), (iv) Drought Resilience Platform established, (v) drought resilience strategy developed, (vi) IDDRISI Strategy and Action Plan mainstreamed into the overall IGAD strategy. 10. He thanked Development Partners who had worked alongside IGAD including AfDB, WB, IsDB, EU, USAID, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. 11. He highlighted some of the challenges including (i) slow operationalisation of drought resilience platforms at the national level, (ii) agreement on geographical coverage of regional projects, (iii) mapping of national and regional drought resilience efforts. 12. In conclusion, H.E. Mahboub expressed the need for a weeklong event at the next General Assembly meeting to allow all countries and programs to showcase progress on the drought resilience initiative. He thanked USAID, Germany, and AfDB for supporting the meeting, and he thanked IGAD staff for their hard work. Global Alliance 13. Mr. Gregory Gottlieb of USAID representing the Global Alliance made opening remarks at the General Assembly meeting. He hailed the partnership that had emerged with IGAD and commended the work done on the Country Programming Papers (CPPs) by IGAD Member States as this was the foundation of bringing all efforts together. He thanked the Technical Consortium (ILRI and FAO) for their help and for their creativity and also thanked Members of the Global Alliance for their dedication and urged them not to walk away too soon, as has too often been the case. He outlined the broad purpose of the resilience initiative as being: (i) ensuring that droughts do not lead to emergencies, (ii) fostering resilience and growth, (iii) finding linkages between relief and development, and (iii) increasing focus and investment in ASALs. 14. He highlighted some of the achievements of the GA since its inception in April 2012 Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 33 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 3 including (i) supporting the CPP process through funding of TC, (ii) working on common measurements of resilience, strengthening IGAD capacity (iii) aligning programs and beginning to move funds from reliefs to development to meet the resilience mandate. Mapping will ensure the shift is seen vividly. He showed the map of shift from Humanitarian to Development Assistance. 15. Mr. Gottlieb informed the General Assembly that, as a way forward, the GA would remain committed at all levels and would pursue the CPP process to completion, and to pursue accountability through M&E. IPF 16. The Co-Chair of IPF and Italy’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E. Rosso, in his statement expressed his confidence that the General Assembly meeting would contribute to the building up of the commitment taken in Nairobi in April 2011 and further enhance the Horn of Africa’s capacity in addressing the root causes of climate shocks affecting the region. 17. He noted that the launching of the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) had come at a time of a new regional paradigm of political, economic and infrastructural integration and the time was ripe for overcoming an emergency-response approach and shaping a longer-term strategy. He hailed IGAD and its Secretariat for leading and coordinating this new bold initiative. He assured IGAD of IPF support for the IDDRSI Strategy. 18. Ambassador Rosso pointed out that, as co-Chair of IPF, Italy was committed to enhancing partners’ coordination in the field of drought resilience and sustainability. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 19. The General Assembly considered and adopted the proposed agenda (ANNEX I). REPORT OF THE 3RD INTERIM PLATFORM STEERING COMMITTEE (IPSC) 20. The Secretariat presented the report of the 3rd meeting of the Interim Platform Steering Committee. 21. The Executive Secretary gave a rundown of history of IDDRSI starting from the adoption of the Platform concept in April 2012 in Nairobi. The Platform would be supported by a Platform Steering Committee and a Platform Coordination Unit. Human resource for the PCU was being recruited by March 2013. The Interim PSC acknowledged the funders of these new positions, including USAID, EU, GIZ, ADB, and FAO. The Committee noted that, while CPPs had been done with the countries, mapping of donor support remained a challenge. 22. The Interim Steering Committee recommended to: (1) Retain its membership and extend its tenure for 2 years (2) Implement IDDRSI in line with CPPs Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 44 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 4 (3) IGAD to assist in mobilizing resources for counties that are yet to complete their CPPs (4) Enhance the role of IGAD (5) Design programmes that cover the entire region (6) Design regional components that cover all Member States (7) Design a regional CAADP in complementarity with IDDRSI (8) Design a unified IGAD and Member States information and M & E System. (9) Coordinate interventions according to the RPP. (10) Adopt the IDDRSI roadmap with 5 streams for March-Dec 2013 23. The General Assembly took note of the presentation by the Secretariat, thanked the Committee for the work done and adopted the report and its recommendations. 24. The General Assembly witnessed the signing of Project Financing Agreement by the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the African Development Bank worth US$ 45.6 million on drought resilience for pastoralist areas. STATEMENTS BY MEMBER STATES AND PARTNERS (ANNEX III) Word Bank 25. The World Bank Chief of Office for Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi thanked IGAD and the Member States for convening the Platform General Assembly. He pointed out that the World Bank was working closely with IGAD on a total commitment of US$ 1.88 billion. He recognized the efforts that IGAD and the Member States had made in drawing up CPPs which were beginning to affect national budgets. 26. He stressed the need to strengthen coordination by reinforcing the capacity of IGAD for coordination and strengthening institutional arrangements at both national and regional levels, while avoiding creation of parallel structures. He called for joint efforts to better support South Sudan and Somalia. EU 27. The EU EuropeAid Director, Mrs. Francesca Mosca, made reference to the last drought (2011-2012) and expressed appreciation for the input of all partners and Member States that made it less devastating than it potentially would. She stated that the EU had given Euro 1 billion for drought emergence in the Horn. Over Euro 250 million is available under the Support Horn of Africa Resilience (SHARE) programme (2012-2013) while more EU funding would be available under the approved 11th EDF. She urged Member States to integrate the resilience agenda in their national planning in order to get adequate funding to end drought emergencies. She observed that emergency was very expensive hence the shift to resilience, noting that “Resilience” was not just a buzz word for the EU. 28. She thanked USAID for leading Global Alliance in the Horn, while the EU led in a similar initiative in the Sahel. She thanked IGAD for the work done on the CPPs. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 55 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 5 USAID 29. The USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, Ms. Nancy Lindborg, observed that the drought was galvanizing all stakeholders together, noting that the US had put over US$ 1 billion in the last drought emergency. She stressed the need to do things differently by connecting humanitarian teams with development teams. As announced in April 2012 in Kenya, the US offered US$ 288 million of which US$ 11 million and US$ 12 million were respectively for Ethiopia and Kenya for resilience pogrammes. 30. She reiterated USAID’s committed to work with IGAD and called for sustained commitment and momentum and alignment of partner interventions with national/regional programmes. WFP 31. The WFP Deputy Executive Director, Da Silva, congratulated IGAD on holding the first Platform General Assembly meeting and noted that drought had renewed the commitment to break the cycle of humanitarian dependence. He called for increased resources for drought resilience and pledged WFP support to the IGAD Secretariat on coherence and coordination. He stressed the need to work across the humanitarian and resilience contexts. 32. WFP would continue to adjust its own procedures to facilitate resilience. He highlighted some of WFP programmes in the IGAD region. He emphasized the need to develop common measures of resilience results. FAO 33. The FAO Representative to AU and ECA, Mr. Modibo Traore, noted that although FAO is not a donor, it was working with IGAD and the Member States to enhance drought resilience. He pointed out that with the new strategy on resilience, FAO was willing to align and work with IGAD for investments. He called for institutionalization of the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group (FSNWG) in IGAD. GERMANY 34. The Director of East Africa at the German Ministry of International Cooperation, Dr. Ralf-Matthias Mohs, noted the German contribution of over Euro 200 million for drought, of which Euro 30 million was for supporting recovery and rehabilitation. He hailed IGAD’s leadership role, which enabled the Member States to launch the drought resilience platform. He announced that the IGAD-German Regional Fund that started in 2012 with Euro 20 million had increased to Euro 42 million on top of bilateral funding of Member States’ programmes. 35. He called for support to IGAD, as custodian of the initiative, to monitor and implement the regional IDDRSI strategy. GEF Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 66 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 6 36. The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Mr. Andre Laperriere, noted that, created in 1991, GEF was already the world’s biggest funder of environment projects. GEF had mobilized US$ 1 billion and had mobilized an additional US$ 300 million through the LDCF and SCCF trust funds specifically for IGAD Member states to strengthen the resilience of water supplies and agricultural production systems in the face of climate change. He regretted that IGAD countries had not used these financial resources to increase drought resilience and improve livelihoods of the populations. He called for project proposals that take into account environment policies and appropriate technology. UNDP 37. The UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa Director, H.E. Tegegnework Gettu, expressed his appreciation of the central role played by IGAD in building resilience to drought and other crises and noted that UNDP was boosting its support to IGAD and its Member States in complementarity with other partners. 38. He advised that IGAD should be a knowledge-based organization, serving as a repository of information and knowledge and expressed UNDP’s commitment to assisting IGAD in achieving this. UNDP would not only focus on the Secretariat but, equally important, enhance the capacity of Member States in building resilience. He observed that national coordination platforms needed strengthening and be linked with the regional platform. He called for continued support to IGAD and its Member States to achieve resilience and sustainable development for all. DENMARK 39. The Coordinator of the Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA), Mrs. Birthe Larsen pointed out that Denmark was committed to building drought resistance at the national level and in the IGAD Secretariat and would realign and increase support. Denmark was going to support Ethiopia and Somalia as well as the IGAD Secretariat under a new peace and security program on the way. 40. She congratulated IGAD on the progress made. ITALY 41. The Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia, H.E. Amb. Rosso, stated that Italy saw resilience in pastoralist communities as a priority. In Ethiopia, Italy’s support to the Government of Ethiopia was around the CPP. In addition, he pointed out that Ethiopia was negotiating a Euro 10 million soft loan and Somalia was negotiating support, focused on vulnerable communities recovering from shocks. 42. As co-Chair of IPF, he reiterated his commitment to coordination of bilateral efforts with those of IGAD Secretariat. SWITZERLAND Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 77 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 7 43. The General Assembly noted that Switzerland had started implementing its three-year Horn of Africa Strategy (50 million Swiss Francs) which included a component on resilience focusing on Somalia and neighbouring states, and would continue to support Sudan and South Sudan. Swiss support would also be extended to IGAD Secretariat and its specialized centres, including scientific support by linking IGAD Secretariat and its specialized centres with relevant Swiss institutions. 44. The General Assembly noted further Swiss willingness to participate in the Platform Steering Committee. AfDB 45. The AfDB Director for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Abdirahman Beileh, underlined the importance of countries taking the lead in the implementation of the resilience agenda. Countries that prioritized resilience would get complementary funding from AfDB. 46. He pointed out that AfDB had already started “walking the talk.” UK 47. The representative of DFID recalled the statement by the UK Secretary of State that the curse of hunger is not inevitable, hence the need in today’s interdependent world, to work together with governments, the private sector, and civil society, to take the steps needed to eradicate hunger.” 48. The UK applauded IGAD for organising a series of meetings on drought resilience and also applauded the work undertaken by IGAD and Member States in the preparation of the CPPs and RPP, which papers would guide and give technical rigour in implementing the resilience strategy. 49. The UK called upon the donors to align their investments behind these programming papers. In addition, there should be better linkage between humanitarian and development financing instruments and programmes, both internally and between partners. The UK expressed support for the work being done by IGAD and the Global Alliance in M & E to come up with common measures of progress. 50. The General Assembly noted that the UK had shifted to a “No Regrets” approach to responding on the basis of not-so-reliable early warning. Forecasting is not an exact science, but collectively partners had been too hesitant to respond early to a crisis that might not happen. Recalling a recent study for DFID it was noted that the costs of potentially unnecessary responses were by far outweighed by the benefits of timely response to an actual crisis. 51. The UK expressed commitment to more flexible funding through multi-year humanitarian programmes and pre-approved contingency budgets for humanitarian and development programmes in ASALS. The UK announced a new £75 million Peace and Development Programme for the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia. The UK was committed to embedding or mainstreaming resilience in all DFID Country Programmes Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 88 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 8 by 2015. WMO 52. A representative of WMO expressed appreciation to IGAD for the continued support to the activities of ICPAC (as a Regional Climate Centre) especially for its seasonal climate outlooks and drought early warning. 53. The General Assembly noted that WMO was working closely with the IGAD Secretariat in the implementation of the EU funded Inland Water Resources Management Programme, in particular, the IGAD-HYCOS component. Data and information collected through this programme would greatly assist in the sustainable management of scarce and precious water resources, of great importance during periods of drought. 54. WMO expressed its commitment to align its drought related programmes for the region (including the Global Framework for Climate Services and the Integrated Drought Management Programme) with the IGAD Drought Resilience Initiative. SOUTH SUDAN 55. The Hon. Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of South Sudan expressed his Government’s desire to be part of the regional resilience programmes including Phase I and the subsequent phases of the AfDB resilience programme, and requested IGAD to intervene. He observed that the border conflict with Sudan was based on drought and conflicts over scarce water and pasture. 56. He called for an aggressive drought resilience program in the border areas in order to dramatically reduce conflict. SOMALIA 57. The Hon. Minister of Agriculture of Somalia, on behalf of his Government, endorsed a common regional approach to tackling the challenges of the region, including environmental degradation, which is a key source of insecurity, including food insecurity. He recalled the drought of 2011 as being one of the harshest in 60 years and particularly impacted pastoral communities and farmers across Somalia. 58. He pointed out that peace and security must be part of the resilience strategy while agriculture, livestock, and fisheries are the basis of the national economy. He expressed Somalia’s commitment to cooperation with neighbouring states in agricultural production and marketing, water and sanitation, infrastructure and institutional development. 59. He expressed Somalia’s desire to participate in Phase I of the AfDB funded regional resilience programme with which AfDB had promised help. UGANDA 60. Hon. Bright Rwamirama, Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries/Animal Industry, on behalf of the Government of Uganda, thanked the IGAD Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 99 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 9 Secretariat for convening this important meeting and the Federal Government of Ethiopia for the warm welcome and hospitality. 61. He stated that Uganda’s economy was growing at 6- 8% annually over two decades while poverty levels had decreased from 56 to 25 percent between 1992 and 2010. He highlighted some of the drought resilience initiatives undertaken by his ministry within the framework of the Agricultural Sector - Development Strategy and Investment Plan (2010-2014), and the National Development Plan (2010 – 2015). 62. In addition, a rangelands and pastoralism policy was under development. Key intervention areas include: Water for Agricultural Production, Restoration of the Environment, Increasing food security, and Diseases, Vector and Pest Control. 63. He thanked IGAD and development partners for putting in place the Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) strategy and thanked the Technical Consortium (ILRI, FAO) for giving technical support in preparing the Uganda CPP. He looked forward to inclusion of Uganda in the new regional resilience projects. SUDAN 64. The Hon. Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of the Sudan stated that Sudan needed help from IGAD in peace-building efforts, and in drought resilience. He expressed the need to strengthen the policy and legal frameworks, and the development and rehabilitation of infrastructure in drought -prone areas, and to facilitate markets. 65. He noted that a national drought resilience committee had been formed and had held many meeting to review the CPP. The Committee had developed concept notes that needed outreach and up-scaling. KENYA 66. The Hon. Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kenya appreciated IGAD’s increasing vigour of its regional interventions and stressed the need for regional response to droughts, especially through the regional resilience platform. He called for harmonization of donor support. 67. He highlighted the regional priorities, including private sector involvement, infrastructure, research and knowledge management, sharing best practices and transboundary animal diseases. WAY FORWARD 68. The General Assembly agreed to the following as way forward: 1) IGAD to collaborate with other RECs to ensure that there are no duplications. 2) IGAD Secretariat, in collaboration with FAO, to undertake the validation of the IGAD Regional CAADP compact while ensuring complementarities with IDDRSI. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1010 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 10 3) IGAD Secretariat and member states to establish a unified Information, Knowledge Management system and Result Based M&E system. 4) IGAD to map investments and activities by humanitarian and development assistance actors across the IGAD region to enhance decision making. 5) The IGAD Platform General Assembly to hold its second meeting during the last week of March 2014 in Kampala, Uganda and the 1st SC meeting to be held in September 2013 at a place to be determined. 6) The incoming Platform Steering Committee to implement the recommendations of the 3rd ISC meeting adopted by the 1st IGAD Platform General Assembly, including the 2013 road map with the five work streams. COMMUNIQUE AND CLOSURE 69. The General Assembly adopted its communiqué (ANNEX IV). 70. There being no other business, the meeting ended with thanks from the chair to all participants. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1111 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 11 ANNEX I: AGENDA Constitutive General Assembly of the Regional Platform on Drought Resilience and Sustainability Saturday, 23 February 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Provisional Agenda 08:00 - 9:00 Registration 09:00 – 10:00 Opening Session Welcome Statement by the Executive Secretary, IGAD Remarks by Representative of the IGAD Partners’ Forum Remarks by Representative of the Global Alliance Remarks by Representative of the IGAD NGO/CSO - Forum Remarks by Chair-person of the AU Commission Opening Statement by Host Country 10:15 – 10:30 Group photograph /Coffee / Tea Break 10:30 – 11:00 Election of the Bureau and Adoption of the Agenda 11:00 – 12:30 Presentation and consideration of the Report of the Interim Steering Committee) and discussion of the way forward with respect to: (1) Organisational issues including staffing and institutional capacity building (2) Programming issues including national and regional programming papers (CPPs and RPP), programme alignment and scheduling (3) Resource mobilization and donor commitment to the CPPs and RPP. (4) Knowledge Management including research studies and donor mapping 12: 30 – 13:00 Statements by Ministers from Member States, Development Partners, Heads of Institutions / Organizations 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break 14:00 – 15:30 (Continued) Statements by Ministers from Member States, Development Partners, Heads of Institutions / Organizations 15:30 – 16:00 Appointments for the permanent Steering Committee of the Platform 16:00 – 16:30 Coffee /tea Break 16:30 – 17:00 Adoption of the Platform’s Road Map for 2013 17:00 – 18:00 Communiqué, Press Conference and Closure Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1212 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 12 ANNEX II: OPENING STATEMENTS OPENING REMARKS BY H.E. WONDIRAD MANDEFRO, STATE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IGAD PLATFORM FOR DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, 23 FEBRUARY 2013, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA Your Excellencies, Foreign Ministers of IGAD Member States, Your Excellencies invited guests, Your Excellency Eng. Mahboub Maalim, Executive Secretary of IGAD, Ladies and gentlemen, First of all on behalf of the people and Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to Addis Ababa. We are all aware of the fact that the Horn of Africa is often affected by severe droughts and chronic food insecurity. In 2011, the region suffered the worst drought in decades, with decimates crops and livestock and over 12 million people, mainly pastoralist communities, in complete distress, unable to fend for themselves. Concerned by the magnitude and worsening persistent droughts and seeking to urgently address critical humanitarian catastrophes in a more sustainable manner, the Heads of State and Government of IGAD and EAC countries convened a summit in Nairobi in September 2011 to address the root causes of this crisis. In the past the approaches used by governments, development and humanitarian agencies to respond to drought related disasters were in the form of relief and emergency interventions; usually based on the actions of individual states and humanitarian agencies. However, these firefighting approaches proved ineffective to the extent that this severity and frequency with which the droughts recurred increased; overwhelming emergency capabilities. The Nairobi summit urged collective action, and was dedicated to the objective of ending drought emergencies, once and for all, through building sustainable livelihoods in the IGAD region. The summit called for the introduction of strategies, policies and programs that involved increased investments aimed at building resilience within member states and the at the regional level. Excellencies, Considering that the response to the crisis needs to be preventive rather than reactive, regional rather that pursued individually by states, the summit assigned the IGAD Secretariat the task of leading and coordinating the implementation of the initiative. Subsequently, the IGAD Secretariat convened several consultative meetings with a wide range of partners, including the meeting the meeting held on 15-16 November 2011 in Djibouti which unanimously agreed that the formation of a Regional Platform was the most effective way for coordinating the implementation of the Horn of Africa Initiative. Excellencies, The measures taken by IGAD Secretariat and member states to implement the Nairobi Summit Decisions clearly shows the level of commitment to come up with new approaches Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1313 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 13 for ending drought emergencies. In this regard, allow me to express my appreciation for the determination and excellent work demonstrated by member countries and development partners in the course of the preparation of the IGAD DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE (IDDRSI) strategy and the subsequent Regional and country Program Papers. My appreciation also goes to the IGAD Secretariat for the close coordination and follow-up in bringing together member states and development partners to exchange view and ideas on ending drought emergency during the crafting and structuring of the IDDRSI Strategy and RPP (2013-2017). I believe that the strategy and the regional program paper will rally all relevant stakeholders, mobilize resources for the identified priority investment areas, promote information and knowledge sharing, support capacity development at a regional and national levels and play a key role in coordinating interventions. Excellencies, You will agree with me that the preparation of these very important documents is a crucial milestone in our fight against drought but the real challenge is ahead of us at the stage of implementation. I believe, we will continue with the same spirit. The implementation of the strategy in each phase will be achieved through a combination of interventions by different actors that collectively contribute to a series of common projects which will generate the impact that will lead to the desired goal of ending drought emergencies. Excellencies, The role of our development partners in the process of developing regional strategies and program papers was crucial. They have already begun living up to their commitment in this Endeavour. But we have a long way to go to implement the development programs in the areas identified as drought prone and vulnerable. I call upon the partners who have been engaged in the struggle against poverty in our region and also those others who have yet to do so, to support the implementation of the program. Ending emergencies is not only a matter of improving livelihoods of those affected by drought but it also has a very important role in ensuring sustainable peace, security and stability in the region. In conclusion, I wish you all a fruitful deliberations and happy launching of the IGAD platform on Drought Resilience and Sustainability Initiative. I now declare the first meeting of the General Assembly of IGAD Platform on IDDRSI open. I thank you! Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1414 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 14 OPENING REMARKS BY ENG. MAHBOUB MAALIM, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF IGAD AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IGAD PLATFORM FOR DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, 23 FEBRUARY 2013, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA It gives me great pleasure and honour to welcome you to the first General Assembly of the IGAD Drought Resilience Initiative. At the outset, I would like to thank the people and Government of Ethiopia for hosting this meeting. I would like to extend thanks to all delegates and particularly our partners in development, for accompanying us through the process of this initiative. With the kind of commitment portrayed so far, I have no doubt that we will together accomplish the task and meet the objectives set out in our Initiative. Excellencies, You recall our Heads of State of IGAD and EAC made a political commitment that “drought shall never turn to famine” in the Horn of Africa again. This commitment is supposed to be achieved by: o Addressing the root causes of drought through a regional approach, o The creation of an enhanced partnership at all levels, o Application of appropriate concept that is not reactive, but proactive, o Focus on ASALS as the most vulnerable areas. The Heads of State directed IGAD Secretariat to take the lead in coordinating this effort. And to develop a regional drought resilience and sustainability strategy. The Summit also requested the development partners to assist the Member States in ending drought emergencies. And in aligning their development programmes to national and regional programmes. Excellencies, In exercise of the mandate bestowed upon us (as Secretariat), And in a quest to implement the Summit decisions, we have so far managed to: o Mainstream and harmonise all existing efforts to the Initiative, o Undertake many consultative interactions with various actors to disseminate and build buy in, o Similar consultative meetings were also organized at technical and political levels, o Developed a common framework for all countries and at the regional level (CPPs and RPP), o Established the IGAD regional drought resilience platform with structures of the General Assembly (GA), Steering Committee as well as well as a coordination unit at the IGAD Secretariat, o Developed IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) strategy, o Developed an action plan for 2013, o Mainstreamed the IDDRSI strategy into the overall IGAD Strategy. Excellencies, Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1515 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 15 The above achievements would not be possible without the support of our development partners. Indeed the partners have, at the regional level, supported the operationalisation of the Platform. And the formulation of the IDDRSI Strategy. In addition, partners have commenced specific projects and initiatives to enhance drought resilience. For example, AfDB, WB, IDB, EU, USAID, GERMANY, DENMARK, FINLAND, SWEDEN, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND. The project preparation by AfDB and WB was based on a sound preparation involving different sectors an in an all inclusive manner. May be others think the process has taken long, but its sound preparation and ownership by Member States will reduce future problems during implementation. Both institutions have shown examples of doing business differently – which is our key pillar in the resilience agenda. May I appreciate their support and request for their continued partnership in the subject matter. Excellencies, I must observe that there are quite a bit of challenges in pursuance of this noble agenda. I will not dwell on the long list, but to mention that: o The slow operationalisation of national drought resilience platforms, o Issue of geographical coverage for projects already prepared by the major financial institutions. o Lack of mapping of national and regional drought resilience efforts. o Not least, low interest in creation of drought trust fund as directed in the Nairobi Summit Excellencies, Our region is, despite these difficulties, growing and expanding its infrastructure. And in its growing interconnectivity in the area of roads, rails, power and water supplies. I am sure this is all a positive contribution to the drought resilience agenda. Excellencies, I suggest in our next General Assembly meeting – which you will hopefully approve to take place in one year’s time. Should be a week-long event – starting with some exhibitions, presentations and fares culminating into the Steering Committee and General Assembly meeting. This will accord all players an opportunity to show case their resilience activities and experiences. This will lead to creation of synergy, harmonisation and effective use of resources. Please allow me to thank the agencies who have supported facilitation of this meeting: USAID, Germany and AfDB. Also I thank staff of IGAD who have worked very hard (extremely hard) under the lead of Mohamed Moussa, Director of Agriculture and Environment at IGAD Secretariat. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1616 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 16 SPEECH OF THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE (GA), MR GREGORY GOTELLIEB AT THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE HORN OF AFRICA DROUGHT RESILIENCE AND GROWTH INITIATIVE HELD AT THE AFRICAN UNION CONFERENCE CENTER, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, 23 FEBRUARY 2013 I. INTRODUCTION A. Mr. Chairman, All protocols observed. Excellencies, colleagues I am pleased to be part of this General Assembly. B. I commend the work done on the Country Programming Papers (CPPs) by IGAD Members. They are the foundation of all our work – it is what we need to bring our efforts together. C. I thank the Technical Consortium (ILRI and FAO) for their help and for their creativity. Katie Downie, Mohamed Mansouri and Polly Erickson. And my USAID colleague Jeff Hill for his foresight. D. My GA colleagues – Headquarters and local – for their dedication. Too often we have walked away too soon. Not this time. II. BROAD PURPOSE A. DROUGHT ≠ EMERGENCY B. FOSTER resilience and growth C. Relief and Development – Find the linkages. Bring together around CCP – this is already happening D. Increase focus and investment in ASAL to rebalance relief and development portfolios III. GENERAL ASSEMBLY PURPOSE A. Set ourselves tasks under the April 2012 Communique. Met in June 2012 to set the work plan. B. Tasks Support the CPP process o Through funding of TC o In November, GA travelled to Addis Ababa and Nairobi - Gave support to the CPPs. - Promoted creation of donor ASAL group of Kenya - Civil Society reviews - Desire to continue work of IGAD Members Accountability o Common measurement for all of us o FAO/WFP Rome meeting for broader Food Security measurement o Approved TC work to help develop high level indicators – begins soon. Strengthen IGAD o GIZ & USAID co-hosted meetings in August and October developed matrix of expected technical support. o Many donors have come forth o Denmark & Nordics are working with IGAD on strengthening Management Align programs, but begin to move funds from reliefs to development to meet the Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1717 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 17 resilience mandate. Mapping will ensure the shift is seen vividly. Respond to the Interim Steering Committee (ISC) desire to map work. This is an opportunity to use and coordinate with IGAD to find the best way to map our work for decision making. IV Way Forward A. Remain committed at all levels B. Pursue: CPP to completion GA to coordinate through CCP mechanisms – substance, geography, time. Pursue accountability through M&E. C. Wish us well in our deliberations Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1818 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 18 STATEMENT BY THE CO-CHAIR OF IPF, AMBASSADOR ROSSO, AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IGAD PLATFORM FOR DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, 23 FEBRUARY 2013, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA The Guest of Honor, H.E. Wondirad Mendefro, State Minister of Agriculture, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Honorable Ministers H.E. Amb. Mahboub Maalim, IGAD Executive Secretary H.E. Representative of the Global Alliance for Drought Resilience Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, AS co-chair of IGAD Partners’ Forum and on behalf of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giulio Terzo – who could not attend today’s event due to the electoral process taking place in Italy – I wish to welcome the convening of this important meeting. I am confident that the General Assembly gathered here today will actively contribute to build up of the commitment taken in Nairobi in 2011 and further enhance Horn of Africa’s capacity in addressing the root causes of climate shocks affecting the region. This in turn will help ensuring sustainable development and strengthening the regional security framework. The launching of the IGAD Drought Resilience and Sustainability Initiative is to be embedded in a framework significant positive changes that the Horn of Africa has been experiencing in the last months. The new Somali Government, also thanks to the efforts of AU and IGAD, is filling the vacuum left by twenty years of civil strife and is truly committed in building up a federal state which will actively contribute to IGAD’s efforts. Most importantly, a new regional paradigm of political, economic and infrastructural integration is rapidly emerging from a phase too often dimmed by mutual distrust. Time is ripe for overcoming an emergency-response approach and shape a longer-term strategy. IGAD and its Secretariat, by leading and coordinating this new bold initiative and by enhancing their political role in addressing regional disputes, have confirmed the essential role as drivers of regional integration. Secretary General, As co-chair of IPF, Italy wishes to ensure its commitment in identifying mechanisms for enhancing partners’ coordination, also in the field of drought resilience and sustainability. Some of the partners are already engaged in these sectors through their aid for development structure and I am therefore sure that you can find in IPF an experienced forum and an ally of your strategy. Let me conclude by stressing once more the complementarity of IGAD’s role in ensuring political stability of the HoA region with IGAD’s rediscovery of the original functions for which it was first established. The two processes go hand in hand: sustainable social economic development contributes to regional stability and the prospect of peace and security strengthens the opportunities for regional cooperation in addressing common challenges. Italy welcomes IGAD’s comprehensive approach and will be your Partner in catalyzing support for further promoting regional integration and cooperation. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 1919 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 19 ANNEX III: MEMBER STATES AND PARTNERS’ STATEMENTS Statement from the World Bank General Assembly for Drought Resilience and Sustainability Platform in the Horn of Africa Saturday, 23 February 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of the Africa Vice-President for the World Bank, Mr Makhtar Diop, I would like to take this opportunity thank IGAD and its Member States for convening this event on a subject that is priority interest to all of us. In addition, I would like to thank the Government of Ethiopia for hosting us in your beautiful capital, and the African Union for enabling us to meet in your exceptional new facilities. As you know, the World Bank has been actively engaged with IGAD and the various governments in the Horn of Africa in responding to the needs that arose from the 2011 drought that affected the region. The severity, scale and human toll of the drought emergency in the Horn of Africa were exceptional in nature and called for concerted national and international action. On the basis of extensive dialogue with governments and other partners, the World Bank formulated a comprehensive Horn of Africa Drought Response Plan in September 2011 that amounted to a response package of US $1.88 billion. This package of response was integrated into three phases: the first phase supported rapid response needs aimed at increasing livelihood protection for drought affected communities; the second phase is supporting economic recovery aimed at boosting crop and livestock production, among other livelihood recovery activities; and the third and long-term phase, aims to reinforce and amplify efforts on building drought resilience in the sub-region through investments in climate-smart agriculture, risk financing, renewable energy, resilience planning, disaster risk management and strengthening social safety nets. Today, the World Bank would like to recognize and commend the efforts of IGAD and its Member States in achieving a very critical milestone in its commitment to ending drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa – the development of Country Program Papers and the corresponding Regional Program Paper which outline the national and regional actions required to be undertaken. We are of the firm belief that these strategies must be at the center of all programming discussions financed by domestic and/or external resources. Moreover, we would like to recognize the invaluable contributions that the Technical Consortium, financed by USAID with technical support provided by the CGIAR centers and the FAO, in providing just-in-time support to the countries in the elaboration of these strategies. Consistent with the Heads of State declaration at the Nairobi Summit, the Bank fully supports and endorses IGAD’s mandate to coordinate and lead the HoA drought response activities as outlined in the CPPs and RPP. Moreover, we would like to call on our fellow development partners to utilize the platform provided through the Global Alliance to make a concerted effort to harmonize and maximize the possible synergies of our respective investment resources to partner with IGAD and its Member States to operationalize the CPPs and RPP. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2020 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 20 To this end, the Bank has already embarked on an investment programming effort with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda that is directly linked to their respective CPPs and RPP, under the overall leadership of IGAD. We are pleased to highlight that development partner collaboration has already been witnessed under this initiative through the invaluable financial and technical contributions by the German Government, the Technical Consortium, and the FAO through their support to these countries in the detailing of the proposed project design. More broadly, the World Bank is committed to scaling-up its support to sustained and climate-resilient growth to the other dry-land areas in Sub-Saharan Africa as well through a combination of analytical work, technical assistance, and facilitation of partnerships at the regional and global level. To this end, the World Bank is undertaking in partnership with FAO, the CGIAR system (in particular ILRI, IFPRI, ICARDA) and CILSS/ CIRAD, a flagship study on medium to long term opportunities for food security and growth in the dry lands of Sub-Saharan Africa in an effort to elevate the profile of the challenges faced in Africa’s dry lands (including the Horn of Africa), and to inform the next stages of the policy dialogue and investment planning at the regional, sub-regional and country levels. The report will build on the best knowledge and science available in Africa and globally and identify cost-effective options across sectors to enhance the resilience of dry lands, taking into account both current patterns of vulnerability, as well as future scenarios, reflecting population growth, climate change and other sources of pressure on dry lands. The World Bank looks forward to the active participation in this effort of IGAD, and other regional institutions as well as national governments in Africa. In closing, we would like to reaffirm the World Bank’s unqualified commitment to supporting IGAD and the countries in the Horn of Africa in their efforts to end drought emergencies. Based on the achievements presented today by IGAD and the Member States, we are fully confident that this complex and long-term journey has begun with the necessary roadmap for achieving its intended objective. We look forward to embarking on this journey with you and our fellow development partners. Thank you. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2121 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 21 STATEMENT BY EUROPE AID DIRECTOR FRANCESCA MOSCA ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AT THE IDDRSI PLATFORM GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ADDIS ABABA, 23 FEBRUARY 2013 Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, All protocol observed, I am pleased to participate today as representative of European Commission in the first General Assembly of the Regional Drought Platform. It is one of the key mechanisms in the scaled-up fight against the impact of recurrent droughts on the vulnerable people of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of the Horn of Africa. The 2011 drought crisis was the worst drought in 60 years. And yet fortunately it has not been the worst in terms of claiming lives thanks to huge efforts made by the countries both in prevention and in response. African countries themselves made great efforts to deal with the crisis, including through the African Union. Both Ethiopia and Kenya have not only been helping their own affected populations, but have been hosting as well thousands of people who fled their homes because of conflicts or hunger. Such displacement, internal or external, remains a significant challenge. The EU and its Member States together have provided significant humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa since 2011. It sums up to an amount of 935 million EURO, of which the European Commission alone 343 million EURO. These are staggering amounts. They not only reflect the commitment of the EU towards the Horn of Africa, but also the very high costs of providing humanitarian assistance. We are convinced that spending a significant part of the money on drought preparedness and prevention is more costeffective than repeatedly reacting through emergency relief and contributes to increase national capacity to manage these types of events. Therefore, we are investing more in building the resilience of vulnerable populations in the Horn, while improving complementarity and coordination between humanitarian and development actions, particularly in the after-crisis recovery and rehabilitation phase. Over the years, IGAD and its Member States have built up a very relevant experience in resilience building. We want to support you in taking this to the next level. The EU gives high importance to building resilience to drought and other crises. In 2012, the European Commission produced a policy paper on ‘resilience’ and just last week an informal EU development ministers meeting, took place in Dublin to discuss, amongst others, resilience and linking relief, rehabilitation and development in the Horn of Africa. For the EU, ‘resilience’ is more than a buzzword – it’s a key component of development. ’Resilience’ is not something any one can achieve alone, it needs concerted efforts and close coordination. Therefore, the EU is a committed partner in the Global Alliance for Drought Resilience and Growth. We are grateful to USAID for taking the lead of Global Alliance in the Horn, whereas the EU is taking the lead in the Sahel where resilience is equally high on the agenda. Within the Commission, both humanitarian and development services invest time and efforts in marking partnership work. We are applying a three pronged approach by putting our different financing mechanisms to their best use: 1/ first there is ECHO, our humanitarian department. Our colleagues ECHO, beyond their core mandate of responding to acute crises, have already since last year embarked on a Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2222 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 22 resilience building programme in the Horn, hereby laying the ground work for other parts of the EU to build upon. In Ethiopia e.g. 40 districts in 6 of the 8 region are now benefitting from a multi-sectoral integrated approach aiming at increasing the coping capacities of the most vulnerable populations and making them better prepared for the next drought episode which will inevitably occur. This resilience programme is intended to continue over the coming 2 or 3 years. 2/ Secondly and in parallel with the ECHO programme, the EU developed an initiative to assist the affected countries of the Horn in recovering after the drought and enhancing their resilience: the ‘Supporting Horn of African Resilience’, in short SHARE. This initiative includes support of over 250 million EURO in the period 2012-2013 and involves joint humanitarian-development work and a continuous linking of relief, rehabilitation and development, with a particular focus on lowlands of the Horn. SHARE projects target the livelihoods of the population of drought affected areas and address issues such as chronic malnutrition, water provisions and management, livestock health and rangeland management. Over half of the EURO 250 million is already starting up implementation and the remaining projects will soon start implementation. We are rolling out a similar initiative in the Sahel, named AGIR (Alliance Globale pour l’lnitiative Résilience). 3/ At the same time, the EU is at the early stage of the programming of the 11th European Development Fund covering the period 2014-2020. This provides an excellent opportunity for an increased focus in our future cooperation on sectors contributing to resilience building. Despite the adverse economic climate in Europe, the outlook is that available funding will be substantial. As the EU supports nationally owned plans, I recommend all IGAD Member State to prominently integrate resilience in National and Sectoral Development Plans through which the EU can provide support in building the resilience of the vulnerable population and communities. Equally, there will be enhanced opportunities for support to cross-border and regional programmes. I like to commend IGAD and its Member States for their efforts and commitment to date under the ‘Ending Drought Emergencies’ initiative. There are challenges lying ahead, but we can work together to overcome them. I believe that with sufficient commitment we can sustainably improve the coping capacity at community, local government and national government level with more resilient delivery system and tested contingency mechanisms. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have highlighted the continued commitment and significant support of the EU to resilience in general and to resilience building in the all of Africa in particular. l want applaud the work done thus far by IGAD and its Member States. I realize we have a lot of work ahead of us with the implementation of the Strategy, the Regional and Country Programming Papers. I call on the IGAD Secretariat and the national Government of the region to clearly express their long time commitment to resilience building activities for the population vulnerable to drought by allocating adequate policy attention, financial and human resources. Only then will we be able to achieve the end of the drought emergencies. I am confident that today’s gathering is an important push in the right direction. Thank you Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2323 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 23 Remarks by Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID at the First General Assembly of the IGAD Regional Platform on Drought Resilience and Sustainability February 23, 2012 Good afternoon. Acknowledge colleagues: Ministers, IGAD Executive Secretariat, etc. Thank you & Background Thank you to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and to His Excellency Mahboub Maalim for hosting us today in Addis Ababa and to the IGAD team for organizing this today. It is a sincere pleasure to be back with you again this week under more hopeful circumstances to take stock of just how far we’ve come. Last April, in response to the human suffering that we witnessed in the Horn of Africa in 2011, African leadership and the international community came together to chart a new way forward. Together, we established the Global Alliance for Action for Drought Resilience & Growth and committed to support country-led plans to build resilience and stop the cycles of crisis and food insecurity that continue to plague this part of the world. We appreciate your commitment, partnership and collaboration on the efforts to build resilience to drought in the Horn of Africa over the last year. We all know that the commitments made last year are not easy and fundamentally, they require a game-changing shift in how we manage risk and address chronic vulnerability in the region. Yet, although our tasks are daunting at times, through IGAD’s leadership and the work of the Global Alliance, we have made tremendous strides toward a regional approach for building resilience. The U.S. government is proud to see real results for the people of the region, including the development of Country Papers that put plans and structures in place to combat vulnerability and build resilience. I would like to recognize my colleagues at USAID who have been intimately involved in both USAID and the Global Alliance’s work to build resilience: Greg Gottlieb, Tom Beck, Ethiopia Mission Director Dennis Weller, and Kenya Deputy Mission Director Jim Hope. Doing Business Differently USAID is firmly committed to supporting regional and country leadership and collaboration among international development partners in support of the resilience agenda. And, we’re doing our part at home to do business differently – to maximize the effectiveness of this support for the people of the Horn of Africa. USAID’s First Ever Resilience Policy Last December, USAID launched its first-ever policy and program guidance on Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2424 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 24 resilience, formalizing key operational changes to better enable our teams to support country-led plans and partner with local leaders to reach these vital goals. This new guidance, “Building Resilience to Recurrent Crisis,” commits USAID to putting more of its development focus on the most vulnerable, to building the adaptive capacity of these populations, and to improving the ability of communities, countries, and systems to manage risk. And, last April in Nairobi, USAID committed to doing business differently to build resilience in three key ways: First: Early Action in Support of Early Warning o FEWSNET o Rome – 1 year later Sahel Response o Prevention instead of reaction Second: Connecting our humanitarian assistance and development programs more effectively through Joint Planning Cells (JPC)/Shared Evidence Base o We are bringing our relief and development teams together through Joint Planning Cells to identify and support shared solutions and maximize the impact of current programs. Together at the same table, we are building resilience even as we save lives, and they are layering, integrating, and sequencing these investments. By clearly linking these efforts to the shared goals of our partners, we can help even the most vulnerable establish a firm footing on the pathway toward inclusive growth. o The WATER program in Ethiopia is just one example of how JPCs are sequencing investments from emergency to development programming. The WATER program develops reliable water supply in areas where USAID had previously programmed emergency assistance. o This activity contributes directly to alleviating annual humanitarian expenses on water trucking by assisting the Government of Ethiopia to map and explore underground resources in the eastern lowlands and associated highlands of the Ogaden basin area in the Somali Region of Ethiopia and build local capacity to ensure groundwater resources are developed and managed sustainably. o Shared evidence base – The World Bank recently found that prolonged drought cost the Government of Kenya $12 billion, primarily due to loss of livestock. IT also found, that in the last 30 years, one out of every three dollars spend on development is lost as a result of disasters and crisis. These are losses that we cannot afford to sustain. And that the people of this region surely should not have to endure again and again. Third: Firmly committed to closer coordination with international development partners in support of regional and country-led plans. 1. USAID Commitments USAID committed $285 million of support to Kenya, Ethiopia, and IGAD for FY11 and FY12 to build resilience. We are moving forward with Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2525 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 25 this funding commitment in full alignment with Ethiopian and Kenyan Country Papers. We commit to helping 1 million fewer people needing humanitarian assistance by 2017. We are also pleased to have supported the Technical Consortium which has played such a critical role in the development of the CPPs and the RPP. 2. Alignment with Country Papers Kenya National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) 3. Alignment with Partners We are fully committed to strong collaboration and partnership and particularly appreciate our strong coordination with many development partners including DFID, the European Commission, World Food Programme, FAO, and JICA. We are pleased to see the establishment of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) Donor Working Group following the visit of the Global Alliance to the region in November. Underscore importance of working together. Looking Forward With the finalization of the country and regional program papers, we are now faced with the task of taking the concrete steps toward true alignment. o We cannot wait. o USG responded to the 2011 drought with $1 billion in humanitarian assistance. Need to build resilience so these communities can withstand shocks o The first task is to do what all that we can toward aligning our existing investments in support of these papers. o As we plan our new investments, we must commit ourselves to joint analysis and joint planning and explore joint programming. Also key to true alignment will be effective country coordination mechanisms which bring together both humanitarian and development actors. Closing Remarks In closing, let us today commit to hold ourselves accountable for taking the difficult steps toward real alignment. All too often commitment wavers after the CNN cameras leave; after the urgency of the crisis passes. We must sustain the momentum and the international response. We must leave today with a mutual commitment to spend our next General Assembly meeting in March 2014 discussing RESULTS: how has life changed for the millions of families who keep falling into crisis. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2626 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 26 We must work quickly to ensure that the next inevitable drought does not force families to leave their homes or children to face, as President Obama said in his State of the Union address, “We know that with the reality of climate change, these shocks are coming more intensely and more frequently.” Finally, I want to assure you that the U.S. commitment to strongly supporting IGAD, helping to strengthen local capacity, and partnering with the Members of the Global Alliance for Action, and supporting local country plans is unwavering Thank you for your continued leadership, partnership and commitment to charting a better way forward for the people of the Horn of Africa. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2727 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 27 WFP Statement Constitutive General Assembly of the IGAD Regional Platform on Drought Resilience and Sustainability Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 23 February 2013 TALKING POINTS • WFP wishes to congratulate IGAD for organizing this critical event. Collectively, we have come a very long way since the Heads of State Summit in Nairobi of September 2011; and this is to a great extent thanks to IGAD’s leadership and to the determination of its Executive Secretary His Excellency Eng. Mahboub Maalim. • The crisis in the Horn of Africa and the declaration of famine conditions in areas of Somalia renewed the impetus to break, once and for all, the cycle food insecurity in the region. It called for transformative action to ensure that the next drought does not turn into a humanitarian crisis. • As a system accountable at all levels, we will only be Fit for Purpose if we are better prepared; more responsive –and that means taking risks if necessary to transform early warning into action; and responding strategically by ensuring that increased resources are geared towards building resilience. • The multisector priority plans to build drought resilience envisioned in the Nairobi Declaration are now a reality. As development partners committed to do business differently in the region, we will step up and support these efforts on three fronts: o We will support the IGAD Secretariat and the Partners’ Platform in enhancing coherence and coordination. In this regard, WFP, which was the first UN Agency to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with IGAD, has been working with its Secretariat to align the MOU with the new IGAD Drought Resilience and Sustainability Strategy. o Working across humanitarian, transition and development contexts, we will also support governments in the the implementation of their strategies and plans. In Kenya, for example, WFP has supported efforts by the National Disaster Management Authority to align the Ending Drought Emergencies Country Programme with the broader Government Mid Term Plan. o Lastly, we will continue aligning our own plans and strategies to support these regional and country-level resilience agendas. In this regard, building resilience is already a core priority for WFP in East and Central Africa, and we currently have programs oriented towards building resilience in all IGAD Member States. But our success in delivering results will be greatly determined by how we collectively move Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2828 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 28 forward towards a common goal in a true culture of partnership. The resilience agenda requires a multi-dimensioned approach, drawing on the relative strengths, complementarities and comparative advantages of a wide range of partners aligning around government-led plans. Recognizing the critical role of partnerships and the need for interventions across different sectors, FAO, UNICEF and WFP in Somalia have developed a joint resilience strategy that will focus on 3 pillars: 1) productive assets, employment opportunities and access to food; (2) access to basic social services; and (3) the establishment and delivery of safety nets. In Djibouti, IFAD and WFP support the Government to enhance livelihoods of droughtaffected people through infrastructure works such as water reservoirs and wells. In Uganda, we are working with the Government to implement the ground breaking Karamoja Productive Assets Program (KPAP), which has helped moved hundreds of thousands of people from reliance on emergency food assistance towards self sufficiency. In South Sudan, WFP is building feeder roads that connect remote but agriculturally productive areas to markets and promoting the development of strategic grain reserves that will support safety net programmes. In Kenya, FAO, IFAD and WFP are partnering with the Government to implement food and cash for asset activities targeting the most vulnerable communities in drought-prone areas. During the recent crisis, communities participating in asset creation activities were able to harvest crops while neighbors relied on relief assistance. For these efforts to be successful, we also need to develop multi-year investment plans and predictable resources to help bridge the divide between humanitarian and development interventions. This kind of sustained engagement has led to concrete results in Ethiopia. Over the years, WFP has supported the Government in the deployment of innovative safety net programs such as MERET. MERET is a landmark community based land rehabilitation and livelihood improvement project that enables vulnerable communities to invest in sustainable land management, home production and income generation through food for assets initiatives. Looking forward, a major milestone in achieving resilience at a significant scale will be the ability to measure resilience outcomes at the household, community and national levels. FAO and WFP organized this week in Rome a workshop with a broad range of experts from the UN, academia, and NGOs to develop a common monitoring and evaluation framework. Very importantly, the Technical Consortium was represented to ensure efforts already underway in this region are taken into account and contribute to our collective learning and knowledge management. It is critically important that we are able to measure the effectiveness of different interventions for policy and programming purposes as well as to promote greater accountability in the use of resources. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 2929 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 29 We have the momentum to change the way Agencies, donors and governments have been dealing with crises, and these are only a few examples of how we can together comprehensively address some of their root causes. We are undertaking a journey, as IGAD partners and as a community. Please know you can count on WFP’s full engagement and support now and along the way. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3030 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 30 STATEMENT BY DR. RALF-MATTHIAS MOHS, DIRECTOR, EAST AFRICA, GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE IDDRSI PLATFORM GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ADDIS ABABA, 23 FEBRUARY 2013 Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, All Protocols observed. It was in August 2011 – during the terrible drought at the time – that I had the opportunity to visit with H.E. Dirk Niebel, Minister for Development Cooperation of Germany, the refugee camp of Dadaab. We saw the suffering of newly arriving refugees. But also saw the incredible work being done there by the international helpers, from WFP, from UNHCR, from our German organisations and all the others. And we also learned about the tremendous efforts and support provided by the neighbouring countries of Somalia to the arriving refugees. When this German delegation visited, Minister Niebel announced an immediate support programme for the region combining humanitarian aid with recovery and rehabilitation support. Out of this package of 118 million Euro, 60 percent was allocated to support recovery and rehabilitation components; this package by now has grown to over 200 million Euro, in addition to German’s contribution through the EU. And it was already at this date that our package contained a 4.5 million Euro contribution of technical assistance to IGAD and a contribution of 20 million Euro to an IGAD Regional Fund to support programmes to strengthen long term drought resilience. For us there was never any doubt that IGAD had to lead this effort in the region and we stood ready to provide support, continuing a tradition of more than 20 years cooperating with IGAD and providing support to the Secretariat. I am therefore delighted to see the tremendous achievements the Secretariat has reached with the support of development partners, like the Nordic Countries and also Germany which have been on board with IGAD for a long time and by now an ever-increasing amount of international support for the case of long term drought resilience. The dedicated work of the IGAD Secretariat has made it possible that the IGAD Ministers have launched the Drought Resilience Platform today. I sincerely wish to congratulate the member states of IGAD for their dedication and commitment to follow up on the decisions of their Heads of State as stated in the Nairobi Strategy and Declaration – documents, which have guided the formulation of the CPPs and a common and coherent approach to drought resilience in the region. We now have to make sure that these are not just another strategy and document on the bookshelves, but they become the effective framework for national investments into the ASALS and for complementing and aligned support from development partners. I wish to congratulate Kenya for having taken the lead in integrating its CPP into national policies and budgetary planning and II am also impressed by the efforts in other member states to make their CPPs operational. Germany stands ready to expand and align its Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3131 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 31 support to these programmes. In fact with many of our partner countries notably our host country Ethiopia, we have been cooperating already for years and in the case of Ethiopia already in progress to stabilize the natural resource base and strengthen drought resilience. It is therefore a particular pleasure for me to be able to announce today that IGAD-German Regional Fund, which was endowed with 20 million Euro, was already increased by an additional amount of 10 million Euro in 2012 and will be topped up as of today by another 12 million Euro, making for a total of 42 million Euro. These funds will be on top of our ongoing and planned bilateral cooperation programmes with the IGAD Countries and will be used to support programmes of IGAD member states with a regional dimension. They will be designed and developed by IGAD member states in cooperation with our German implementing agencies KFW and GIZ and in cooperation with IGAD Secretariat and development partners. Ladies and Gentlemen, All achievements and plans to build up drought resilience in the future need to be firmly anchored in the orientations and guidance given by the African Heads of State in the Nairobi Strategy. And we all need to cooperate with and support IGAD to move ahead the regional strategy (RPP/IDDRSI), to monitor the implementation of the Nairobi Strategy and to provide guidance based on its assessment of best practice – because, after all, this is IGAD’s mandate as the custodian of the Nairobi Declaration which was entrusted to IGAD by the Heads of State and which should be reflected in our communiqué today. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3232 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 32 STATEMENT BY ANDRE LAPERRIERE, DCEO, THE GEF AT THE IDDRSI PLATFORM GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ADDIS ABABA, 23 FEBRUARY 2013 Mr. Chair Your Excellencies, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, My name is Andre Laperriere; I am the Deputy CEO at the Global Environment Facility, the GEF. Created in 1991, the GEF funds sustainable development through projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants. Based in Washington DC, the GEF is constituted by 182 Member States in partnership with international institutions, community organizations, NGOs and private sector. Today the GEF is the largest public funder of environmental projects in the world. When I was a child, there were about 3 billion of us on this planet. Currently we are about 7 billion. When our children will be my age, we should be around 10 billion, 43% more than today, sharing the same resources. This will put considerable pressure on an environment already pushed to its limits in a number of areas: biodiversity loss, land degradation, increasing shortages of safe water and overall global warming, which Affect this region very much. For instance, recent reports indicate that mean annual temperatures have already increased by 1.3 degrees in the Horn of Africa, while the frequency of drought related shocks has doubled. With shorter growing periods, and declining yields climate change is directly affecting food security across the sub-region. This is why I am especially glad to be part of this forum, an important step towards the common goal of increased drought resilience. Since its beginnings, and working with you, GEF has so far mobilized a billion USD for projects in the region, primarily in Biodiversity, Climate Change and Land Degradation, with a special emphasis on Sustainable Land Management. Then, through the LDCF and SCCF trust funds, the GEF mobilized an additional 300 million USD to fund adaptation projects specific to IGAD Member States. These projects strengthen the resilience of water supplies and agricultural production systems in the face of climate change, and contribute to build up climate information services and early warning systems. So as you can see, considerable resources have been and are available to the region. However despite the hardship it faces, a significant part of the funding available is left unused. For instance only two countries have fully spent their GER STAR allocation, and most are yet to use LDCF/SCCF resources also available to them. This leaves unused millions of dollars that could otherwise help you increase drought resilience, and improve livelihoods of the populations. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3333 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 33 To address this, we need more innovative, well thought, synergetic project proposals to be brought forward; we need a policy environment that facilitates project implementation and sustainability; we need appropriate technology to be used and disseminated. Funding alone is not enough. This is why while GEF is determined to continue to fund projects in the region, we wish to work more closely with each of you and with IGAD in order to help you develop national and regional policies that can effectively support concrete Drought Resilience, SLM, mitigation and adaptation measures on the ground. Similarly we propose to work with you on technology transfer through acquisition and demonstration of appropriate technologies, and the promotion of investment mechanisms to help commercialize environmentally sound initiatives. As the three stones under the cooking pot, financing, policies and appropriate technology must go hand in hand in the design, and implementation of successful projects in the region. This is how available funding can be effectively used, and how more can be raised. We extend to all of you and in particular to IGAD to work together in putting to use available resources and securing the capacity to deliver high quality, sustainable outcomes towards drought resilience. Finally, we will look with great interest at the conclusions of this meeting in particular at the operationalization of the drought Resilience Platform as an important mechanism to maximize project impact, synergy and complementarity in the region. Thank you very much. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3434 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 34 STATEMENT BY THE UN ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL AND UNDP REGIONAL BUREAU FOR AFRICA DIRECTOR, H.E. TEGEGNEWORK GETTU AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IGAD PLATFORM FOR DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, 23 FEBRUARY 2013, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA His Excellency Mahboub Maalim, IGAD Executive Secretary Excellencies, Representatives of the IGAD Partners Forum, the Global Alliance for Drought Resilience, and the IGAD NGO/CSO Forum, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is honored to be a partner of IGAD and development partners in the implementation of initiatives directed at building drought resilience and sustainability in the Horn of Africa. We value this partnership immensely, as an engagement which has led us to effectively manage the impacts of drought, particularly the recent drought in the region. I am glad that the lessons learned from these experiences are internalized in the various strategic documents of IGAD, as well as, in the capacity development of IGAD itself. Appreciating the central role IGAD plays in the region and the urgency in building resilience to drought and other crises, UNDP is boosting its support to IGAD and its Member States. Informed by IGAD’s strategic development programming frameworks and programmes, like the Institutional Strengthening Action Programme (ISAP), and guided by our own capacity framework, UNDP’s engagement is directed at enhancing the institution’s management and technical capacities, systems, and processes so as to allow IGAD to effectively build resilience to disasters, particularly drought, in the Horn of Africa. UNDP believes that enhancing the institutional capacity of IGAD to perform effectively its coordination and leadership is essential to ending drought emergencies and in allowing the institution to achieve its objectives on food security and environment protection; promoting peace and security; and in achieving sustainable development through economic cooperation and integration. To this effect, UNDP looks at complementing other partner’s effort at improving coordination mechanisms; enhancing institutional system, tool, and processes within IGAD; and boosting the technical and professional capacities of the IGAD personnel. IGAD should e a knowledge-based organization. There is wealth of knowledge and information in the Horn of Africa, let alone in each of the IGAD Member States. Making such information and knowledge available and accessible is important in guiding the work of IGAD, its Member States, partners and stakeholders. Making IGAD the repository of information and knowledge would only serve to enhance its standing in the region and the continent and UNDP is committed to assisting IGAD in achieving this. Currently, a substantial amount of development assistance is pouring into IGAD and the Horn of Africa. It is important that IGAD continues to enhance its absorptive capacity to effectively and efficiently utilize these resources so as to maintain the trust, confidence, and goodwill of its partners. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3535 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 35 UNDP will not only focus on the Secretariat but, equally important, enhance the capacity of Member States in building resilience. National coordination platforms need strengthening and linked with the regional platform. The ability of IGAD to tap on the human capacities of its Member States and allow it to be used in other countries in the sub-region where such is needed, will strengthen the cooperation between Member States while allowing for cross-fertilization of expertise and knowledge. UNDP is a firm believer that there is enough human capital in the region – and in the continent – that if shared and properly harnessed would hasten the development of our countries and communities. In closing, we have to continue our support to IGAD and its Member States to achieve resilience and sustainable development for all. And in this undertaking you have a partner in UNDP. Thank you for your attention. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3636 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 36 ITALY STATEMENT FOR IGAD RESILIENCE PLATFORM GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Government of Italy recognizes as a priority sustaining the on-going efforts to enhance resilience of those pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities who have been seriously affected by climate constraints, mainly drought. It supports the strategies, policies and actions undertaken by IGAD, its Member States and other Development Partners to promote long term solutions and interventions, in order to enhance livelihoods and shift from an emergency response approach. The Italian Government has been involved closely in the process, as co-chair of the IPF, and has welcomed different initiatives, such as the Global Alliance, and others promoted by various development partners, as the WB, AfDB, EU SHARE. The Italian support to the drought resilience will be aligned with the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative Strategy and with the Regional Programming Paper, but will be mainly channeled through a direct support to the Ethiopian Government and its Country Programming Paper. The intention is to develop a long term initiative addressed to drought affected areas in Ethiopia in partnership with other development partners. We are in an advance stage of a consultation process together with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia concerning the pledging of 10 million euro in the form of sovereign – high concessional soft loan. In other countries of the Horn, some of our interventions in cooperation with multilateral organizations, both in course and in the pipeline, stress the link between recovery and rehabilitation and more long term actions aimed at strengthening capacities of resilience, security and development of vulnerable populations: for example some actions in Somalia already in course together with FAO, HCR and some others in course of programming jointly with WFP, UNESCO and focused on IDP camps in central and southern Somalia. In a broader context, be assured that I will be personally engaged, also in my capacity of IPF co-chair, in guaranteeing consistency of our bilateral actions with the IGAD platform. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3737 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 37 OPENING REMARKS BY SWISS REPRESENTATIVE AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF IGAD PLATFORM FOR DROUGHT DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE, 23 FEBRUARY 2013, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA Chairman For Switzerland the establishment of the Drought Resilience Platform by IGAD comes timely. The Swiss administration is today working in the first year of its Strategy for the Horn of Africa 2013-2016, and drought resilience is one of the four areas in which Switzerland intends to cooperate with IGAD – at the regional and individual country levels. Over the four years of the strategy, Switzerland is ready to bring up to CHF 50 million to the Platform. The other areas are peace and security; Federalism and Governance for service delivery; and Migration. I understand that we consider all these areas of proposed engagement of Switzerland to be interrelated – and we intend to address them accordingly. The focus of the Swiss strategy lies on Somalia in her interaction with Djibouti, Eastern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. This does not mean that we will not be, to the least, carrying forward our current engagements in South Sudan and Sudan. We support the leadership and management of the Drought Resilience Platform by IGAD and we envision supporting IGAD in this role and responsibility. Switzerland is prepared and willing to participate at full in the Steering of the Platform. The Platform provides the natural venue and harmonization among Development partners to align beyond IGAD and its member States. Switzerland acknowledges the most useful role the Global Alliance has played in the preparation of this Platform and favors a continued role for the Global Alliance to support the IGAD Secretariat in its mandate to lead and manage the Platform. Against the background of the Swiss Regional Strategy, it is obvious that the Strategy and the Regional Programming Paper of IGAD will form the main basis for the identification of particular Swiss contributions to the Platform. Switzerland will also consider options for supporting the institutional strengthening of the IGAD Secretariat as well as its specialized Institutions and Centers. As much as we will try to integrate the various sectors of our interventions from Drought Resilience to Federalism & Governance to Peace & Security for greater effect, Switzerland is convinced that a close link between the technical and political levels will also enhance any actions undertaken. Throughout our contributions, we will attempt to strengthen this link. Finally, scientific support ensures quality of interventions in all areas of development work. Switzerland will promote linkages of IGAD’s as well as her own interventions with the various Centers of Excellence for Research and Science that exists in the Region. We will link these up with an existing consortium of Swiss Universities that work in the field of sustainable development and global change, and have specific knowledge on the IGAD Region. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3838 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 38 UK Statement Constitutive General Assembly of the Regional Platform on Drought Resilience and Sustainability Saturday 23 February 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Mr Chairman Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen My Ministers would like to express regret at not being able to attend this meeting today. As my Secretary of State has said, “The curse of hunger is not inevitable. More than ever, in today’s interdependent world, we have the opportunity to put an end to this – through working together, with governments, the private sector, and civil society, we can take the steps needed to eradicate hunger.” The UK applauds the leadership of IGAD in organising this series of meetings on drought resilience. We also applaud the considerable work undertaken by IGAD and member states in the preparation of the Country and Regional Programming Papers. These papers will guide and give technical rigour in implementing the programme. The UK supports the need for donors to align their investments behind these plans. We are working closely with the country coordination forums to ensure that our own investments are fully aligned and supportive of the plans. This represents a real opportunity to achieve maximum effect in helping communities withstand, bounce back and adapt to ever increasing and intensifying risks in the region. But we must go further than alignment. We must better link our humanitarian and development financing instruments and programmes, both internally and between ourselves. Mr Chairman I would like to take this opportunity to outline four policy reforms internal to DFID that are particularly relevant to the efforts of IGAD and partners to build drought resilience in the region. The first reform is a shift to a “No Regrets” approach to responding on the basis of early warning. Forecasting is not an exact science, but collectively we have been too hesitant to respond early to a crisis that might not happen. A recent study for DFID suggests that the costs of potentially unnecessary responses are far outweighed by the benefits of timely response to an actual crisis. It concludes that we could fund early responses twice in Kenya, or seven times in Ethiopia, before the cost is even equivalent to that of one single late response. Earlier responses will help households avoid selling their productive assets, and so stop the Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 3939 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 39 vicious cycle that ultimately leads to acute humanitarian crises. The second reform is a commitment to more flexible funding. This has two components: Firstly, a switch to a multi-year approach in contexts of chronic and recurrent humanitarian need. In Ethiopia, DFID now has multi-year humanitarian programmes in place for food, non-food and refugee assistance totalling £108 million over 3 years. In Kenya we are embarking on a 3 year, £17 million nutrition programme in the Arid and semi-Arid Lands. A substantial new 3 to 4 year humanitarian programme is being developed for Somalia. The predictability of multi-year funding, that has been absent in traditional short term responses, enables partners to have systems in place even before a major crisis hits. It also enables them to develop more appropriate longer term programmes that address the root causes of vulnerability, as well as respond to the symptoms. But longer-term funding alone is not enough to deal with recurrent droughts. Where relevant, we are building in pre-approved contingency budgets for humanitarian and development programmes in drought prone areas. This allows us to “top-up” funding when the early warning bell rings, allowing partners to scale up safety nets, nutrition, livelihoods, water and food assistance in anticipation of a spike in needs. Flexible funding will also be more cost effective, allowing support to local production and procurement of food assistance, or timing purchases when international prices are more favourable. The third reform is increased development investments in drought prone areas. For too long the international system has treated the symptoms of long-term structural vulnerabilities in the region with short term emergency responses. This is why in Ethiopia the UK is supporting the roll out of the Productive Safety Net Programme – that has proved effective in protecting families from poor rainfall years in the highlands – to the lowland pastoral areas. We are also embarking on a new £75 million Peace and Development Programme for the Somali Regional State that will deliver longterm investments in basic services, livelihoods and economic opportunities, including for those that are moving out of pastoralism. In Kenya, the UK is rallying around the Government’s leadership of the Country Programme Paper process with a coherent and increasing set of programmes. Our substantial investment in the flagship Hunger Safety Net Programme is being supplemented with new investments in nutrition, livelihood diversification, market integration and education in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands. Work to develop triggers for early response is being undertaken in support of the Kenyan National Drought Management Authority and their Drought Contingency Fund. The fourth reform is the UK’s commitment to Embed Resilience in all DFID Country Programmes by 2015. This involves carrying out a multi-hazard risk assessment, Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4040 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 40 developing a country strategy for disaster resilience, and what we have begun to call “disaster-proofing” our programmes. We know, for example, that in times of drought, children drop out of school, undermining our development investments and disrupting children’s education. It is no longer enough to just recognize drought as a risk. We need to build in measures that mean the impact of our programmes and the benefits for communities are not diminished by shocks that are, at a cyclical level, very predictable. Finally, Mr Chairman, the UK would like to express support for the work being done under the IGAD and Global Alliance initiatives on monitoring and evaluation. Being clear on what success looks like in the coming months and years, and how we measure progress in achieving this is critical. The UK has been playing its part in building the evidence base for investing in resilience. A recent DFID funded study found that in Kenya – over a 20 year period – every $1 spent on building resilience saved $2.9 in reduced humanitarian spend. As aid budgets around the world tighten, the UK and other donors are increasingly concerned that every pound, every dollar, every euro or every yen, is spent for maximum impact. In that regard, the IGAD drought resilience initiative provides not just an attractive, but a critical opportunity to make the most of our investments for the benefit of the region’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Thank you Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4141 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 41 WMO Statement Mr Chairman, your excellencies, honorable ministers, Eng Mahboub Maalim, Executive Secretary of IGAD, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Mr Michel Jarraud, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization, I would like to thank the IGAD Secretariat for the invitation to attend this extremely important meeting and for the government of Ethiopia and the African Union Commission for their roles therein. Other speakers have highlighted the importance of climate variability and change and early warning systems to drought management, matters very close to the heart of the WMO, so I will not dwell further on these here. I would just like to refer to three items which I believe offer great opportunities of supportive and collaborative support towards the drought resilience regional platform. Firstly, considering that, as mentioned here this morning and this afternoon, drought is a major concern for this region, the continued support by the IGAD Secretariat to the activities of ICPAC (IGAD Climate Applications and Prediction Centre) as a Regional Climate Centre is much appreciated, especially in relation to seasonal climate outlooks and drought early warning systems. Secondly, the African Ministerial Conference of Meteorology (AMCOMET), established in Kenya in April 2010 offers a strong instrument to further meteorological and climate initiatives into the future, and of direct interest to this region, is that Uganda is the current Rapporteur to AMCOMET. ACOMET has adopted the Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology (Weather and Climate Services), endorsed by the African Union Summit of Heads of State, which is collective endeavor to address weather and climate related challenges. Last, but by no means least, WMO is working closely with the IGAD Secretariat in the implementation of the European Union funded Inland Water Resources Management Programme, in particular, the IGAD-HYCOS component. Data and information collected through this programme will greatly assist in the sustainable management of scarce and precious water resources, of great importance during periods of drought. Mr Chairman, WMO through it Member’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, and in association with its partners in the UN system, is involved in a wide range of integrated drought management related initiatives, including the Global Framework for Climate Services (for which these is an Addis Ababa Declaration for the Implementation in Africa signed by African Union Commission) and the Integrated Drought Management Programme. We would be pleased to align these activities with the IGAD Drought Resilience Initiative. Mr Chairman, again, thank you for the opportunity to make this statement and I join others in congratulating all of those involved in this exciting and highly relevant initiative. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4242 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 42 STATEMENT BY HONOURABLE BRIGHT RWAMIRAMA, MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL INDUSTRY AND FISHERIES/ANIMAL INDUSTRY AT THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE IGAD REGIONAL PLATFORM ON DROUGHT RESILIENCE AND USTAINABILITY Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Saturday, 23 February 2013 The Chief Guest, Honorable Ministers, The Executive Secretary of IGAD, Your Excellencies, Head of UN Agencies, World Bank, ADB and Others, Distinguished Participants, On the behalf of the Government of Uganda, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries, I am honored to be given time to address you. I would like to thank the IGAD Secretariat for convening this important meeting and the Federal Government of Ethiopian for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to my delegation since our arrival in Addis Ababa. Uganda’s economy has been growing between 6 – 8% annually in the last two decades. In Uganda, the majority of people (73%) are employed in Agricultural Sector. Agricultural production contributes approximately 22% of the National Gross Domestic Product, accounts for 47% of national exports and is the major source of raw materials for the country’s agro- based industries. Uganda’s poverty level has decreased from 56% to 25 percent between 1992 and 2010. However, the country’s success in reducing poverty could have been higher had it not been for the high frequency of droughts and changing rainfall patterns in the dominantly rain-fed farming systems of Uganda. These conditions have negatively affected the food security situation and nutritional well-being of the population especially in the semi arid and dry sub-humid areas of Uganda. Initiatives to address issues of dryland resilience and sustainability by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, include development of Uganda’s Dryland Development Program in 2003 and a Sustainable Land Management Strategic Investment Framework in 2010 which identified priority areas that have been integrated in the Agricultural Sector - Development Strategy and Investment Plan (2010-2014) and anchored in the National Development Plan 2010 - 2015. In addition, a rangelands and pastoralism policy is under development and a sustainable land management program is being implemented. On this basis, the Government of Uganda has stepped up investment in the Agricultural Sector as key to accelerated economic growth. The Government is also committed to achieve prosperity for all (PFA). The cardinal principal of PFA is to identify and support economic enterprises that help households to earn daily, periodic and long-term income, with a target of minimum gross income of UGX 20 million per household per year (approximately US$7,500). All these efforts are intended to reduce the impact of natural hazards and land degradation affecting the livestock and crop sub-sectors, especially droughts, floods, declining soil Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4343 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 43 fertility and productivity, increased crop and animal disease incidences as well as migrations and conflict over access to the dwindling natural resources particular rly land, water and feed resources. Despite these challenges, the future of the livestock Industry and Agricultural Sector in Uganda as a whole is bright as observed in the growth of the lucrative markets within the region and internationally. It is envisaged that Strategic Investment in dry lands will facilitate realization of improved livelihoods and enhanced resilience to drought and therefore achievement of our national vision as well as the Millennium Development Goals. Recommendations: As echoed in earlier meetings, Uganda would like to make interventions that will build resilience in the semi arid areas. We therefore recommend the following: 1. Water for Agricultural Production: Water harvesting during times of plenty (heavy rains) and utilization in the dry periods. Uganda has unfunded plans for provision of water for livestock, crop irrigation and fish farming. There is need to support the IGAD countries own lead initiatives in water for agricultural production. 2. Restoration of the Environment: There is need for restoration of the resources through sustainable management of natural resources (land, water and forests). 3. Food Security: Increasing food security by supporting agricultural production and productivity in the region is a priority. Both soil management and mechanization programs need to be supported. 4. Diseases, Vector and Pest Control: Most Animal diseases are transboundary (TADS) in nature and need to be tackled together in the region. Vectors particularly Tsetse flies and their associated problems need to be tackled together in IGAD and Africa comprehensively. There is need to address pest control programs as Governments rather than leaving the problem to farmers alone if we have to achieve meaningful production and therefore food security. I would like to thank IGAD and all development partners for putting in place the Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative to address the constraints in these areas and reduce vulnerability of our people. We thank the Technical Consortium led by USAID, FAO and GIZ for giving technical support in preparing our country programming framework. Uganda has made wide consultations with the stakeholders. The consultations are still going on to make sure all stakeholders of the initiative are on board. We thank the World Bank for the quick response to this Initiative and agreeing to support the first project under the initiative (Regional Pastoral Livelihood Resilience Programme). We request all other partners to follow. Uganda has been missing on the list of recipients. I hope phase two will capture our unfunded projects. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4444 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 44 We also request for a coordinated effort between the partners so that we make a lasting impact on the lives of our people. The Government of Uganda would like to build resilience in these areas to achieve sustainable development, food security and nutrition. Our priorities have been indicated in the Country Programme Paper to end drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa. Specific priorities that have been proposed include; Sustainable management of natural resource, development of agriculture infrastructure, disaster risk management, research and knowledge management, and peace building and conflict resolution. Lastly, I wish I bring to the attention of IGAD Secretariat that as we attract more Donors and Development Partners, we need to develop efficient programs and reduce cost of implementation without comprising expected outputs. Thank you for your attention Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4545 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 45 ANNEX IV: COMMUNIQUE COmmuniqué of the General Assembly IGAD PLATFORM FOR Drought DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE HORN OF AFRICA Recalling: 1. The Declaration of the Initiative at a Joint Horn of Africa and East Africa Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Nairobi, Kenya on 9th September 2011 and the Summit Directive for IGAD to convene a ministerial progress review after 6 months of the Declaration of the Initiative. 2. The endorsement of the IGAD Regional Platform for Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability (Hereafter referred to as the “Platform”) by the IGAD Summit of Heads of State and Government of 25 November 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 3. The Communique of the Joint IGAD Ministerial and High Level Development Partners Meeting on Drought Resilience and Growth in Horn of Africa held in Nairobi, Kenya on 4th April 2012. Considering: 1. African Union Policy Framework on Pastoralism in Africa and the UN Systems response to address the special needs of the drylands recently published as Global Drylands (2011). 2. The IGAD objectives and Areas of Cooperation as stipulated in the Agreement Establishing IGAD (Article 13A) and existing IGAD Policies on Livestock, Environment and Natural Resources, Gender, Food Security etc. 3. That IGAD Member States are developing strategies and programs aligned with Country Programming Papers (CPPs) and are creating national coordination mechanisms for harmonization, alignment and coordination of interventions with respect to building drought resilience. 4. The establishment of the Global Alliance for Action for Drought Resilience and Growth as named by the meeting of IGAD Ministers and High-level Minister of Development Partners on 4th April 2012 at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya. 5. The IGAD Secretariat 10-month progress report on the Initiative as well as a report on the progress made in establishing an IGAD regional CAADP compact. Appreciating: 1. The critical role of IGAD Secretariat, and member states have played in building drought resilience actions in the Horn of Africa. 2. The Member States commitment to the development of comprehensive CPPs and establishing national coordination mechanism that incorporate relevant line ministries, humanitarian and development assistance actors, civil society, private sector and among others. 3. The establishment of the IGAD Platform and the work of the Interim Steering Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4646 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 46 Committee for Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI). 4. The role played by IGAD Secretariat in the development of the Regional Programming Paper and establishing a Regional Drought Resilience and Sustainability Platform and its organs; 5. The role the Global Alliance to mobilize and maintain headquarter level political commitment, enhance coordination among humanitarian and development assistance actors and encourage alignment of investments. 6. The contribution of development partners including AfDB, EU, BMZ, WB, USAID, IPF, Denmark and ISAP partners (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) for the continued support to institutional development and coordination capacity at the IGAD Secretariat. Now the Ministers and the Partners do hereby: 1. Take note of: the progress made in the operationalization of the IGAD Regional Platform for Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability. 2. Take note of: the approval by the AfDB of phase 1 of the Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood Programme in the Horn of Africa for an amount of USD 140.52 million for Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and the IGAD Secretariat. 3. Constitute: the Platform Steering Committee, as composed in the interim steering committee, to serve for the next two years. 4. Commit: To the participation and integration of women, youth and vulnerable groups into national and regional drought resilience initiative. 5. Commit: IGAD Secretariat to coordinate and monitor drought disaster resilience interventions and report back to relevant ministers, SC and General Assembly. 6. Commit: All IDDRSI stakeholders including MS, IGAD, development partners and NSAs to be held accountable for results in improving the lives of people who keep falling into crisis. 7. Endorse: the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) Strategy documents with amendments proposed by the Interim Steering Committee. 8. Reaffirm: our commitment as Member States to execute the full implementation of IDDRSI in order to end drought emergencies in Horn of Africa. 9. Reaffirm: the commitment by development partners to coordinate, harmonize and align support with the country and regional programming papers, including the utilization of the established institutional arrangements at the IGAD and MS levels. 10. Reaffirm: development and humanitarian assistance partners’ commitment to align their programmes and policies to the RPP and CPPs which are an integral part of the overall country development strategies. 11. Engagement: Of the NSAs including NGOs, private sector and community groups to encourage their participation in the implementation of IDDRSI. Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4747 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly 47 12. Urge: the IGAD Secretariat and member states to mobilize resources to operationalize the CPPs/RPP and development partners to support the said programmes; in this context the General Assembly welcomed the integration of Kenya’s budgeted CPP into its Mid-Term Plan (MTP) - 2013 to 2017. 13. Urge: The member states and development partners to support the implementation of the Regional Drought Resilience and Sustainability Platform. 14. Urge: The Regional Platform Steering Committee to implement the 2013 road map with the five work streams. 15. Urge: IGAD to collaborate with other RECs to ensure that there are no duplications. 16. Encourage: IGAD Secretariat, in collaboration with FAO, to undertake the validation of the IGAD Regional CAADP compact while ensuring complementarities with IDDRSI. 17. Support: IGAD Secretariat and member states in establishing a unified Information, Knowledge Management system and Result Based M&E system. 18. Facilitate: Mapping by IGAD of investments and activities by humanitarian and development assistance actors across the IGAD region to enhance decision making. 19. Agree: to hold the second meeting of the IGAD Platform General Assembly during last week of March 2014 in Kampala, Uganda and hold the 1st SC meeting in September of 2013 at a place to be determined. 20. Agree: that the recommendations of the 3rd ISC meeting are adopted by the 1st IGAD Platform General Assembly and urge the incoming SC to implement the recommendations. 21. Thank: the Government and people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for hosting the IGAD General Assembly and for their warm hospitality at the same time thank the Africa Union Commission for availing the excellent conference facilities. Done at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 23rd February 2013 Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 4848 Report of the First Meeting of the Platform General Assembly ANNEX V: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Addis Ababa, 21 February 2013 48