February 23, 2020 (JUBA, South Sudan):Since the coronavirus outbreak was confirmed in Chinese city of Wuhan on 7th January 2020, cases have been reported in several countries, including the 1st case from Africa, Egypt. As of 22nd February 2020, WHO had confirmed that the total number of confirmed cases had reached 75,924 and 2,362 deaths had resulted from the coronavirus.
Jan.12,2020 (Madani,Sudan): IGAD, GIZ and the Government of Sudan (Ministry of Education) convened a two-day Consultative Workshop on Sudan's Costed National Education Response Plan for the implementation of the Djibouti Declaration on Education for Refugees, Returnees and Host Communities. The Workshop was held in Madani, Gezira State of Sudan, on 12 and 13 January 2020.
The Meeting brought together experts and policy makers, representatives from IGAD, UNHCR, refugee students and teachers from Khartoum and nine refugee hosting regional states of Sudan.
Speaking on behalf of the Executive Secretary of IGAD, H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, and Ms. Fathia Alwan, the Director for Social Development of IGAD, Dr. Kebede Kassa Tsegaye, Coordinator of IGAD Education Programs, welcomed the participants and lauded the efforts of the Ministry of Education in promoting access to inclusive and quality education for refugees, returnees and host communities.
He also expressed appreciations to the financial and technical support of the German Government, through GIZ, to strengthen the capacity of IGAD and its Member States.
Finally, Dr. Kebede assured the Ministry of Education of its continued assistance to ensure that the Costed National Education Response is translated into concrete actions in the coming years.
IGAD was also represented by Dr.Mohamed Elduna, Dr. Osman Bilail and Mr. Youssouf Farah.
Nov. 19, 2019 (NAIROBI, Kenya): A joint IGAD-UNESCO consultative workshop was held on the 19th of November 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the draft report on the assessment of national qualification frameworks in IGAD member states with the objective of developing a comprehensive Regional Education Qualification Framework (RQF). This consultative process was adopted by the Addis Ababa Call for Action of the IGAD ministers in charge of education for the implementation of the Djibouti Declaration on education for refugees, returnees and host communities.
The workshop was attended by two experts from each member state, namely, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. Partner agencies in attendance included GIZ, UNHCR, UNICEF, Windle International, ICUEA (Inter University Council of East African Community).
In her opening remarks, Ms. Fathia Alwan, Director of IGAD Social Development, expressed appreciation to UNESCO and GIZ for their strong commitment in the implementation of the Djibouti Declaration of which RQF is one of the key priority areas.
Speaking on behalf of the Strengthening IGAD Migration Policy Implementation Project (SIMPI), implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Government, Kokebe Hailegabriel also underlined the importance of the regional qualification framework and its relevance for the free movement of persons protocol and regional integration. She iterated the continued support of GIZ to the realization of the Djibouti Declaration and its different components, including the ongoing costed national education response plans in the IGAD member states.
On her part, the Director for UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Ms. Ann Therese Ndong Jatta outlined UNESCCO’s commitment to working with IGAD and promoting quality education through the IGAD RQF. She emphasized that RQF is important part of the regional and international development initiatives such as SDG4, the AU Continental Education Strategy for Africa and others. She therefore urged all member states, IGAD and partners to move this important agenda forward through sustained partnership.
The workshop reviews the study report by the UNESCO consultant and is expected to come-up with recommendations on the way forward to consolidating the RQF in the coming months.
Nov. 3, 2019 (DJIBOUTI, Djibouti): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and Windle International (WI), an NGO working on education in displacement situations in the IGAD region, have started preliminary consultations on the possibility of signing a cooperation agreement.
Oct. 30, 2019 (JUBA, South Sudan): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the Ministry of General Education and Instruction of South Sudan, in partnership with UNHCR and the Commission of Refugee Affairs of South Sudan, organized a Validation Workshop, on 28-29 October 2019, in Juba, South Sudan.
