IGAD to Validate Key Studies in its Fights against Drought Effects

10 November 2020 (MOMBASA, Kenya): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) today opened a workshop aimed at validating a Study Report on Assessment of Drought Impacts and Use of Early Warning Climate Information for Resilience Building in the IGAD Region and another Study Report on the Impact of Drought During the Period 2011-2018 on Livestock Sector/Economy and the Effects of IDDRSI Investments in Abating Drought Impacts in Selected IGAD Member States (Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan).

This three-day workshop is held in Mombasa, Kenya and is bringing together the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Initiative (IDDRSI) Country Coordinators and IGAD different offices. This workshop adopts participatory approach to review the draft reports and validate them for use by the planners and policy makers.

The objective the workshop is to validate the draft study reports and their findings and provide recommendations and feedback for improvement and finalization of the studies. The workshop aims to share, discuss, and enrich the reports of the regional and the selected case studies on the status of drought impacts on livestock and other socio-economic sectors, while strengthening the ability of decision makers to use outcomes of the studies in their planning and decision making.

‘The purpose of the first study is to improve existing drought monitoring, prediction and early warning system that is being used by ICPAC through the development of an online integrated regional drought information system’, Dr Eshete Dejen, Ag Programme Manager Environment Protection, clarified in his opening remarks.

He added that the purpose of the other study was ‘to document the social, economic and environmental impact of drought on livestock economy in targeted areas of selected IGAD MSs during the period 2011 – 2018; and determine whether the investments made through IDDRSI realized expected outcome to contribute to moderating effects of drought on communities’.

By the end of the workshop, the key findings of the two studies would have been shared with the workshop participants and discussed; the outcome of the studies validated; a roadmap and recommendations for using the outcomes of the studies in our planning and policy dialogue in the region and at Member States level discussed, refined and adopted.

Dr Eshete thanked the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the financial support.