December 11, 2022 (BISHOFTU, Ethiopia): The Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Dr Workneh Gebeyehu, today signed a grant agreement worth 10 million Euros with the Germany Development Bank (KFW) on December 9 in Bishoftu.
The grant will serve for the phase II of the ongoing implementation of the Regional Migration Fund (RMF) initiative in the region for 36 months starting from July 2023 to June 2026. The additional funding received will enable IGAD to reach more cross-border locations and refugee hosting areas in the region.
The main objective of Regional Migration Fund (RMF) is to improve the living conditions and enhance economic opportunities for migrants, refugees and host communities in the IGAD Region.
The initiative has two distinct, but complementary windows. Window I is aimed at improving livelihoods and enhancing socio-economic inclusion of migrants and local communities, including youth and women, in cross-border locations. On the other hand, window II is to improve the livelihoods and enhance socio-economic inclusion of refugees and host communities in protracted migration settings.
In addition, the Executive Secretary signed another grant agreement amounting to 3.4 million euros with the European Union for the implementation of the project on Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in and from Sudan and South Sudan through the IGAD Support Platform and the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugee. The grant will be implemented under the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) initiative.
The third agreement signed by Dr Workneh Gebeyehu was the no-cost extension for the project entitled ‘’Towards Common Regional Approach to Refugee Management’’ with the Government of Sweden. It is a 3.6 million USD grant initially signed in March 2020. The main objective of this project is to develop standardised and common system of Refugee management, in general, and data collection, reporting and sharing system among IGAD Member States in particular.
At the end of the grant singing ceremony, the Executive Secretary thanked the Government of Germany, the EU and the Government of Sweden for their timely support. Finally, Dr Workneh underscored and reassured the commitment of IGAD for the smooth implementation of all the projects for which the agreements were signed.
