Legal provisions of SWD(2012)102 - SHARE: Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience - Main contents
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| dossier | SWD(2012)102 - SHARE: Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience. |
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| document | SWD(2012)102  |
| date | April 11, 2012 |
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 11.4.2012 SWD(2012) 102 final
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
SHARE: Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT SHARE: Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience
1. Introduction
The Horn of Africa suffers from recurrent droughts and emergencies, as well as from sustained high levels of under-nutrition and food insecurity. In 2010-11, exceptionally dry weather conditions prevailed in the eastern part of the Horn of Africa, resulting in the worst drought in 60 years. The impact of the drought has been aggravated by the sharp increase in staple food and fuel prices, demographic pressure, weak basic services and infrastructure in particular in pastoralist and agro-pastoralists areas and by the situation of general insecurity in Somalia and other parts of the region, which has increased the number of refugees and further constrained production and trade patterns. Such a situation has caused livestock losses and crop failure, affecting the livelihoods of millions of people, with a significant toll in terms of loss of lives. While in recent months, good rains have come to most parts of the Eastern Horn and the UN has declared that the famine is over, the situation remains precarious in large parts of the region.
In 2011, the EU reacted quickly and massively to the humanitarian crisis and provided around EUR 730 million in humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa in 2011; the European Commission alone allocated EUR 181 million from the EU budget. Food security also features prominently in the long-term cooperation programmes financed by the EU. In Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Uganda, as well as in Somalia, agriculture, rural development and/or food security are focal sectors for development cooperation and recent EU programmes for agriculture and food security in the region represent a value of more than EUR 600 million. Without such assistance the impact of the 2011 crisis would have been much greater.
The EU Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa1 sets out a comprehensive approach to tackle the challenges of the region as a whole. There is a need to follow on from humanitarian interventions and to strategically build resilience to food insecurity and malnutrition in the Horn of Africa to avoid a repetition of large-scale disasters. Building resilience is an issue for both humanitarian and development actors and must be addressed at different levels.
This Staff Working Document analyses the causes of sustained food insecurity in the Horn of Africa, and describes on-going EU interventions (humanitarian, development, stability, sustainable production systems, management of natural resources, etc.). The paper has benefited from regular joint (humanitarian-development) consultations which have assisted in developing a common view of the issues, as well as a newly-developed 'joint humanitarian development framework' which guided the analytical work.
This paper may serve as background to future work on supporting Horn of Africa resilience (SHARE), involving EU short-term contributions to recovery and rehabilitation from the 2011 drought as well as consideration of priority themes and sectors for longer term interventions
in the region, involving improved coordination. This Staff Working Document focuses on the regions (states and part of states) of the countries of the InterGouvernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)2 in the Horn of Africa in so far as they are susceptible to droughts and emergencies.
2. Characteristics of vulnerability in the Horn
2.1. Livelihood Characteristics
The Horn of Africa is particularly exposed to climate change hazards and recurrent drought events. Overall, 75% of the land of the region is classified as arid and semi-arid, where availability of water represents a major constraint to development. The region presents an important lowland / highland divide with different land use and livelihood patterns: agriculture and cereal production in the highlands areas and extensive livestock rearing in the lowlands. Farming and herding systems underlie religiously and culturally different societies with communities depending on a dwindling natural resources base. There is a long history of interdependence between pastoralists and farmers in the region (e.g. trade fluxes between lowlands and highlands in Ethiopia and Kenya). Nevertheless, despite a potential for synergy and complementarities, interaction and exchanges between highland and lowland areas encounter significant difficulties.
Overall, the countries in the Horn are net importers of cereals but net exporters of livestock products; livestock represent nearly 60% of the region's agricultural GDP3 and the main livelihood asset for a large number of rural households. Livestock markets lack efficiency and trade opportunities are constrained by restricted cross border movement, insecurity, heavy informal and formal taxation, poor investments in basic infrastructure, particularly in lowlands.
Significant population growth (over 3%) affects patterns of resource access and land utilisation in the region. Remittances represent an important source of revenue for local communities (e.g. Somalis), but the remittance flows can easily be affected by global economic variability, as well as by local security problems.
In 2011 global acute malnutrition rates in the Horn of Africa were reported in over 30%4 of drought affected areas, over double the internationally recognised emergency threshold.
2.2. Nature and Causes of the Crisis
The recent drought in the Horn of Africa constituted a trigger that turned a longstanding precarious situation into a disaster. A number of factors contribute to growing vulnerability of livelihoods - including rural poverty, low productivity, insecure access to land, weak governance, insecurity and prolonged geo-political instability. The causes of the crisis are complex and interrelated, multi-sectoral and multi- level. There are global causes (i.e. climate change), regional causes (i.e. weak regional integration hampering an efficient functioning of
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda as well as South Sudan (Eritrea membership is
suspended),
Data from ‘Modern and Mobile: the Future of Livestock Production in Africa’s Drylands’. 2010.
International Institute for Environment and Development and SOS-Sahel International UK.
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the food market), national causes (i.e. conflict situation, lack of basic investments and services for the population), and causes at the level of communities and households (i.e. increased differentiation and marginalisation).
While drought is not uncommon to this region, a steady decline in average rainfall and an increase in its variability has been noted in recent years; phenomena that may well be related to the effects of climate change. In combination with a growing population, it has increased overall pressure on natural resources in the region, with visible signs of unsustainable resource exploitation, environmental degradation and escalating insecurity. Resource-base conflicts and pastoralists’ cross-border access to key resources, such as water and pasture, represent major challenges by hindering access to resources and impairing the normal functioning of regional and national food markets. Sedentarisation of previously mobile groups results in more concentrated pressure on environmental resources around settlements. Moreover, changes in land uses due to mining, drilling, commercial agriculture, nature conservation increasingly limit pastoralists' mobility, with degrees of competition and conflict. Overall, access to land resources represents a growing concern for the rural population, as land acquisition schemes tend to alienate the most vulnerable groups from the resources they depend upon, especially during weather shocks.
Lowland areas have generally suffered from a longstanding neglect in investments. Infrastructure development and access to basic services are among the poorest in the world. In some areas, basic educational as well as health facilities and services are non-existent. This has important impacts on the nutritional levels as well as on the economic capacities of lowland populations, where limited availability of skilled human resources represents a major development constraint towards livelihood diversification. Limited investments, in combination with insecurity, inappropriate policies, and poor animal health services also renders the livestock trade vulnerable to global price fluctuations and limits its full development potential.
2.3. Population at risk
The total population of the arid and semi-arid lands is estimated at 45 million in the Greater Horn of Africa out of an estimated population of more than 200 million. The population groups that are most vulnerable consist of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, small scale-farmers, destitute/urbanised groups, displaced people, refugees, as well as host communities for the refugees and displaced. Within these groups, children, and pregnant or lactating women are considered to be among the most vulnerable individuals in terms of food insecurity.
3. principles for and challenges to effective eu assistance in the Horn
Any agenda to improve the effectiveness of EU assistance on enhancing resilience in the Horn of Africa must include three general aspects: (i) improving the link between humanitarian and development assistance, (ii) a clear articulation between regional and national level interventions, and (iii) coordination.
3.1. Dovetail humanitarian and development aid (LRRD approach)
The EU has set out its LRRD approach in two Communications in 1996 and 20015.
In its October 2011 proposals for a policy framework for development, An Agenda for Change, the Commission stresses the aim for the EU to ensure a smooth transition from humanitarian aid and crisis response to long-term development cooperation. Moreover, both the EU food security policy and the humanitarian food assistance policy6 indicated the importance of close linkage between humanitarian actors and instruments in enhancing food security for the most vulnerable. Commission services have been concretising these LRRD principles and have developed a methodology for the design of a Joint Humanitarian-Development Framework for transition situations (see Box 1). In the Horn of Africa, this framework has been applied and regular consultations take place between Commission humanitarian and development staff, both at headquarters and in the field.
Box 1 – The Joint Humanitarian-Development Framework
In 2011, a Joint Humanitarian-Development Framework (JHDF) was developed and tested by the humanitarian and development experts. The JHDF contains a process that ensures the articulation of different views and the compilation of relevant information. It contains 5 steps:
1. Discussion on the overall nature of the crisis
2. Identification of the crisis affected population
3. Analysis of the causes of food insecurity
4. Analysis of the ongoing and/or planned EU interventions
5. Assessment of EU interventions and identification of strategic priorities The development of SHARE will contribute to the application of the JHDF to the Horn of Africa.
Over the years, the Commission has been improving linkages between EU humanitarian and development interventions, with increasing success (see Box 2). Nevertheless, more progress can be achieved. In the context of the Horn of Africa, this involves for instance:
• using the same overall response strategy to enhance resilience in the Horn of Africa;
• focusing the use of humanitarian and development assistance on respective comparative advantages;
• making full use of the flexibility offered by existing financing instruments;
• encouraging cross-learning of humanitarian and development experiences in projects supporting resilience; and
• organising early exchanges of information and opinions between humanitarian and development services on all proposed resilience programmes and projects.
To put this into practice regular resilience dialogue between Commission Services could take place resulting in the drafting of concrete LRRD action plans for each country of the region. A review mechanism for progress made could be established.
Humanitarian and development assistance have comparative advantages in different domains related to resilience. Humanitarian assistance should primarily focus on life saving activities.
COM(1996)153 Linking Relief, rehabilitation and Development and COM(2001)153 Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development – An assessment
As set out in the Council Conclusions on Humanitarian Food Assistance (10 May 2010), on Council Conclusions on an EU Policy to assist developing countries in addressing Food Security Challenges (10 May 2010, in the Communication on Humanitarian Food Assistance (COM(2010)126) and in the
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But it should also be engaged with short to medium term presence in transition situations through activities that contribute to the development of local capacities, service delivery, support to local authorities/local administrations so to make services sustainable, support livelihoods and promotion of disaster preparedness. Development assistance should focus on strengthening the organisational, institutional, natural, infrastructural, and service delivery environment for the livelihoods.
Box 2 - Improved Seeds in Somalia
A good example of positive coordination along the LRRD continuum between EU humanitarian and development assistance concerns the programme for seed improvement in southern Somalia. This programme, financed from development funds, has shown that using Somali improved seeds can increase yield by 50-100%. Part of the improved maize seed produced by the association promoted by the project was distributed to farmers through an actionso-financed from humanitarian funds and implemented in the famine-affected regions in Central Somalia, during summer 2011. This action aimed at early recovery within the small-scale farming populations with a hope to make best use of the Deyr rainy season that started in October 2011. Implementing such early-recovery action in the midst of a massive emergency famine response has proven successful: the Deyr short rainy season has produced double the average cereal harvest in south-central Somalia.
3.2. Combine a regional approach with specific national level interventions and support capacity development
To be successful in enhancing resilience in the Horn of Africa, a well articulated combination of regional and national approaches is needed. A regional approach should be taken on common issues and cross-border themes. This would involve partnership arrangements with and support to regional bodies (notably IGAD), facilitating regional integration, and developing shared analysis, as well as a coherent, consistent and common vision on crossborder issues. Such a regional approach needs to be combined with specific national level interventions, applying the principles of subsidiarity and complementarity. In both cases support should be aligned to regionally and nationally owned plans which should, in turn, be developed in an inclusive manner. This should also promote the development of a body of evidence-based knowledge to inform policy decision-making and planning at all levels.
The capacity of the key regional organisation in the Horn of Africa (IGAD) is weak and demands on its performance are multiple, calling for enhanced capacity building in a well-structured manner, as well as streamlined donor approaches. At the same time, local administrations and local organisations have a poor capacity for service delivery in large parts of the region – and particularly in the pastoralist lowlands – while their role in enhancing resilience will be crucially important. This also requires capacity strengthening within a context of decentralisation and de-concentration.
3.3. Enhance coordination
A broad partnership approach is required, involving international agencies, other development partners, organisations of producers, regional, national and local authorities, private sector and NGOs in their respective areas of expertise.
Various development partners have indicated their intention to increase support for the Horn of Africa in order to prevent major food crises from re-emerging. These partners include, in addition to the EU Member States, the main traditional donors, such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and USAID, as well as UN agencies, but also non-traditional donors such as Turkey, the Gulf States and the Islamic Development Bank. Coordination of
support and alignment with an agreed framework will be necessary to enhance the effectiveness of external assistance. At country level, existing coordination frameworks can be used, while at regional level new ones are emerging. The EU should use these arrangements and work with partners in implementing complementary, synergetic and/or joint cooperation programs. Agricultural development assistance should take account of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) compacts, investment plans and mechanisms where available and where possible.
Following the September 2011 AU-IGAD meetings on an African initiative to end drought emergencies in the Horn, a task force involving key international organisations7 has worked out a regional strategy and action plan. This 'Common Program Framework to End Drought Emergencies in the Horn of Africa', to be eventually endorsed by IGAD Member States, has been acknowledged and supported during the April 2012 follow-up Conference in Nairobi. This Common Program Framework could serve as a main reference document for EU assistance. In addition EU assistance should take account the AU Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa (2011), the AU Framework and Guidelines for Land Policy in Africa (2009) and ensure coherence with CAADP compacts and investment plans8. Where available, Post-Disaster Needs Assessments should be used as a basis for project and programme formulation.
Overall, IGAD plays a coordinating role in the implementation of the Common Program Framework, working closely with the countries of the Horn of Africa. Through its Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa, the EU assists the IGAD Secretariat in strengthening its capacity to promote its core roles of coordination, facilitation of cross-border initiatives and regional integration, particularly in areas such as livestock development and natural resource management.
Interaction between humanitarian and development actors, which have their own extensive coordination mechanisms, provides an additional challenge in the Horn of Africa. The EU will continue to actively participate in both spheres of coordination and to facilitate exchanges of information on all relevant actions and actors.
4. EU SHORT TERM RESPONSE: ONGOING AND PROPOSED RECOVERY SUPPORT
Although famine conditions are over, emergency and crisis levels of food insecurity continue to prevail in many parts of the region, requiring stepped-up recovery assistance. The Commission is developing a package of interventions, for adoption in 2012 and 2013 that would boost the recovery phase in the Eastern Horn of Africa. This assistance would build on emergency interventions and other ongoing cooperation programmes to restore productive capacities of affected households, as well as public services and the capacities to respond to future crisis situations. The interventions would be region- and country-specific.
Sources of EU financing could range from humanitarian to development funding and include programs in support of rural livelihoods, livestock, water and sanitation, rangeland management, fisheries, drought risk reduction and safety nets. A mix of funding could be available, from recent allocations to new initiatives, and including funds re-allocated from EDF resources, as for instance funds for financing short-term fluctuations in export earnings
including AU-IBAR, FAO, WFP, IFPRI, ILRI
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as requested by ACP Ambassadors. .The following more specific sources of financing are available:
• Humanitarian funding, notably the 2012 Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP) for the Horn of Africa, covering a Drought Risk Reduction Action Plan for the Horn of Africa Region (EUR 20 million) as well as an emergency preparedness component mainstreamed in specific country operations where necessary.
• The Instrument for Stability (IfS), notably an allocation of EUR 13.75 million for rural resilience and stability in Southern Ethiopia
• Various forms of development assistance, including:
– The Food Security Thematic Programme of the Development Cooperation Instrument for LRRD interventions
– The Millennium Development Goals Initiative, financed from the European Development Fund (EDF), notably for a planned programme on rangeland management in Somalia
– The EDF regional cooperation programme in support of regional livestock projects, covering drought and climate change adaptation, as well as disease surveillance for trade
– Funds that have recently been allocated for additional EDF country financing for Somalia
– Other possible reallocation of EDF funds for additional country financing for Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
Other relevant programmes that are at the initiation stage and can still be adjusted (e.g. the programme to support nutrition strategies in West and East Africa), could be aligned with these actions.9.
4.1. Regional Level
Currently, the EU is supporting interventions at IGAD level to improve regional integration through capacity building in international trade standards; through the IGAD partner forum; studies to promote cross-border trade, as well as through livestock policy initiatives. Moreover, the EU is supporting projects and programmes that aim at preventing, mitigating and managing natural disasters, regional food security and risk management. It does this by contributing to the regional operational disaster budget and inland water resource management in the IGAD region. The EU also funds a regional disaster risk reduction (DRR) action plan supporting DRR community-based operations, their coordination with existing national policies, as well as advocacy, awareness and dissemination of good practices and lessons learnt from the community based activities.
IGAD capacities in a number of critical domains, including cross-border movements, implementation of adequate policies in pastoral areas, conflict prevention and resolution as well as drought management and response, need to be increased.
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Furthermore, the EU is actively involved in supporting agricultural research for development in the region, particularly through ASARECA (Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Southern Africa) and the centres of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) system. The latter includes programmes with a focus on climate change, conservation agriculture and crop genetic improvement for drought resistance.
4.2. Ethiopia
The large majority10 of Ethiopians live in rural areas as farmers and pastoralists and are faced with increasing pressures for resources, as well as unpredictable and erratic rains. In these circumstances availability of and access to food remains problematic. Between 10 and 15 million people are considered to be food insecure annually. In 2005, the Ethiopian Government changed the approach towards food security and started a progressive shift from humanitarian/food aid to the establishment of a safety net and a programme supporting agricultural productivity and growth. The latest national development plan – the Growth and Transformation Plan, 2011-2015- is ambitious on food security and aims to drastically reduce the number of households participating in the safety net program by 2015. Ethiopia finalised a CAADP compact in 2009.
Support for the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) features prominently in the ongoing EU cooperation programme with Ethiopia: EUR 241 million has been provided since 2005. The PSNP allows able persons from vulnerable households to engage in public works programmes. In the past seven years, about 7.8 million chronically food insecure people received regular cash and food transfers during six months in a year. The transfers cover food consumption needs and protect the already limited household assets from depletion. Through the public work component of the PSNP, about 34,000 micro projects (soil & water conservation, terracing, small-scale irrigation, rural access roads, etc) are implemented every year, contributing significantly towards the rehabilitation of the natural environment and enhancing rural people's access to markets.
Besides the PSNP, the EU supports improvements in resilience and food security through programmes in support of agriculture (input provision, marketing), livestock (animal health), forestry (participatory management), roads, water, social sectors and income generation. The programmes use Government channels, as well as NGOs as implementing partners.
In response to the 2011 drought, the EU provided EUR 50.86 million of humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, targeting the Somali refugee camps and the drought affected population in the southern and eastern parts of the country. EU-funded relief actions focused primarily on food assistance, on treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition, on drought risk reduction in lowland pastoralist areas, on primary healthcare in marginalized areas affected by protracted conflict and where the population do not have access to the basic health care services, on shelter, safe water and sanitation and on control and prevention of epidemic outbreaks. The funds are channelled through International Organizations, United Nations agencies and NGO's.
In addition, an allocation of EUR 13.75 million was approved from the Instrument for Stability to address food security and resilience concerns, particularly in the south of Ethiopia,
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including 1) access to agricultural inputs (improved seeds, fertilizer etc.); 2) on-farm and off-farm income-diversification opportunities and access to rural credit services; 3) livestock production & productivity including reinforcement of community-based animal health services and access to inputs; 4) rehabilitation of rangelands and exploiting water harvesting opportunities; 5) access to domestic and regional markets and market information; and 6) rehabilitation/reconstruction of water supply schemes. NGOs will be involved in its implementation.
Short-term priorities for EU interventions in Ethiopia could build on and extend ongoing assistance, e.g.:
• Additional projects to support the recovery of livelihoods of the drought affected population in the southern and eastern part of the country
• A programme to comprehensively address nutrition in pastoralist areas
• Disaster risk reduction projects in pastoral areas, combined with strengthening of coordination and aid effectiveness
• A livestock support initiative in pastoralist areas
• A further contribution to the PSNP programme.
4.3. Somalia
Somalia represents a specific case, given its long conflict and the absence of an effective central government. The country shows degrees of divide between state structures and society in its northern and southern regions: the north has been able to establish relative stability and an adequate form of governance, while the central and southern parts have seen regular armed conflict, with insufficient consolidation of power established by the Transitional Federal Institutions.
Considering the difficulty in having a long-term perspective to Somalia, development cooperation largely reflects this divide, with longer-term funding mostly allocated to the more secure and stable regions of Somaliland and Puntland, and the shorter-term Food Facility and humanitarian emergency funds focusing on insecure areas of south-central Somalia, where most of the humanitarian needs are. Warfare and insecurity provide limited access to southern regions, which are endowed with the best agriculture areas and yet are affected by the highest levels of malnutrition and food insecurity.
In order to address the severe food insecurity in south-central Somalia emergency food assistance initiatives, supported by relatively functional local markets, comprise a combination of large scale interventions (food aid) associated with livelihood support, cash transfers activities and vouchers schemes (for water, seeds and tools etc). Some recovery assistance is directed towards farmers and herders (livestock, animal health) in order to gain best benefits from the rainy seasons. Development assistance funding in this domain is geared towards natural resource management, support to sustainable farming production (farmer associations and irrigation schemes), animal health and veterinary services delivery, livestock export marketing and trade, capacity development of livestock sector institutions, integrated support to rural livelihood and information analysis (water and land information management). Projects have for many years supported the establishment of a stable commercial agricultural sector (e.g. improved seeds). In the North, production activities are also related to rangeland management, livestock health and processing/commercialisation of livestock products.
In the next few years, EU humanitarian assistance will need to continue focusing on short term life-saving activities and protection of livelihoods. Primary attention will need to be given to food insecurity affecting most regions of the country and in particular south-central Somalia. It is essential to continue sustaining the delivery of humanitarian assistance and to work towards emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction (DRR) in order to prevent the risk for vulnerable households to fall back into famine and destitution.
To address food insecurity, a combination of food assistance initiatives could be supported (cash transfers, vouchers, nutrition through cash based initiatives and livelihood support). Assessing the capacity of the local markets to properly respond will be essential. Support through in-kind food assistance would only be a response of last resort and short term emergency funding would continue to support the resilience of traditional farming (herding, farming, and fishing). Recovery assistance to farmers and herders would need to prepare for / gain the most from the next rainy seasons. Action on agriculture and livestock needs to be coordinated with private sector (trade, market) and infrastructure development.
Close coordination between the various humanitarian and development assistance tools is necessary in order to avoid inconsistencies or overlaps concerning for instance livelihood support and cash- as well as voucher-based safety nets. An improved analysis on the impact and adequacy of current food security and food assistance initiatives is required.
In addition, access to safe water (both for human and animal consumption) and adequate hygiene remain a priority in Somalia. Comprehensive and complementary water, sanitation and hygiene activities should be part of any integrated plan, with a positive impact on public health and livelihoods. Interventions would be built upon the existing knowledge, practices and capacities of the targeted communities. Water trucking would remain a last resort option.
4.4. Kenya
At least one million people have been relying on food assistance for the past 15 to 20 years. Recurrent seasons of failed or poor rains have strained coping mechanisms and exacerbated pre-existing chronic poverty, particularly in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) which cover 80% of the country's territory. Food insecurity has also occurred in the context of civil and political unrest. The Government of Kenya responded to the recent drought by budget reallocations for drought recovery and undertook a Post Disaster Needs Assessment. Needs for recovery and reconstruction are estimated at USD 1.7 billion, while disaster risk reduction needs for greater resilience building over the next 5 years are estimated to sum up to an additional USD 2.1 billion, predominantly in the livestock and water and sanitation sectors, as well as in agriculture. The Government of Kenya is currently preparing the respective programmes. Kenya finalised a CAADP compact in 2010.
The EU has been supporting rural development and agriculture for a long time. This area currently is a very significant focal aid sector from the 10th EDF. Important EU programmes are aiming at strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities, in particular those affected by recurrent droughts. Jointly with the National Drought Contingency Fund, the National Drought Management Authority is now in a position to provide support and funds to newly created counties for disaster prevention and preparedness, and for drought contingency planning. The design and set up of this Fund and its Authority, have been supported since the 9th EDF. Furthermore, EU support contributed to improvements in drought early warning systems. Besides Drought Management, the EU supports improvements in resilience and food security through programmes in support of agriculture aiming at increased productivity and
better commercialisation (research, extension services, input provision, marketing), roads, water, governance and human rights.
In its fight against the consequences of drought, the EU is also carrying out important humanitarian interventions addressing health and nutrition needs in the poorest and most drought affected areas with persistent high malnutrition rates. The EU is heavily engaged in short term humanitarian interventions for refugees in Dadaab and, to a lesser extent, Kakuma camps.
Short-term priorities for recovery assistance could include:
• continued attention to the urgent needs in the refugee camps (mainly Dadaab) through the provision of multi-sectoral assistance, whilst working on innovative approaches to reduce the 'dependency mindset' and building on self-reliance strategies.
• focussing on saving lives and improving the resilience of communities affected by droughts in the ASAL, with a specific focus on livelihood and assets protection.
• supporting innovative interventions to maximise the potential for markets to meet people’s various needs, especially in times of drought.
4.5. Djibouti
Sedentary and nomadic populations live in Djibouti, with nomads constituting 30% of the total population. Djibouti is facing an acute water shortage resulting from a chronic shortage of rain, an increase in the salinity of the water catchment and an increase in water consumption. Insufficient rainfall since 2005 had a direct impact on the livelihoods and health of the most vulnerable rural population, which was also affected by high food prices (90% of the food is imported). According to the post-disaster needs assessment carried out in 2011, the latest drought affected 120,000 people, mainly in rural areas (15% of the total population). The local economy has also been hit, as the pastoralist population faced cattle losses.
The water shortage is addressed by the EU through the rural communities and surface water programmes as well as through a desalination project for Djibouti city. The EU is also currently active in nutrition by increasing the capacity of the National Nutrition Programme through breastfeeding campaigns, provision of supplies and funding training of the health staff involved in malnutrition treatment. The EU is also providing food assistance to the most vulnerable groups, including refugees and host communities.
In coming years, it is important that interventions focus on the management and sustainable use of natural resources, notably water; on peaceful cohabitation between local population, refugees and migrant populations, with a specific focus on pastoralists, and on nutrition and wider food insecurity issues. The water component should take into account equitable access between sedentary and nomadic populations, and ensure access rights to pastoralist in order to diffuse conflict potentials (e.g. the right of passage, feeding on crop residues). Providing support to the pastoralist populations would require important investments in order to create the necessary field structures. Furthermore, Djibouti has a well-documented potential for fisheries, where EU assistance could increase the capacity of the sector and support export to Europe.
The Disaster Risk Reduction components of the development and humanitarian instruments need to be closely coordinated. The National Nutrition Programme for Community
Management of Acute Malnutrition and the capacity of the Ministry of Health would need to be reinforced.
5. Possible future priorities
Based on the priority needs in the Horn of Africa, as identified in the past months11, on EU experiences in the Horn, and on EU policy orientations12, a number of issues would appear to be increasingly important.
The first of these is a greater relative emphasis on the lowlands of the Horn than in the past. While the importance of the highlands as production areas for staple cereals should not be neglected, the complementary role of the lowlands as suppliers of animal proteins needs to be set on a sustainable path in terms of reliability of production, as well as management of the natural resource base. Ensuring a two-way flow between these two different ecological and production systems could create synergies with positive effects on local economic development and nutritional patterns, while enhancing regional integration.
The lowlands in the Horn of Africa generally coincide with the drylands where pastoralism represents a mainstay, and stretch across the borders of the different countries, adding to their marginality on the one hand and political sensitivity on the other. Themes such as crossborder migration, regional trade and resource-based conflicts are therefore critical in addressing drylands development. The integration of these areas into mainstream development plans through adequate levels of investment and dialogue with pastoral communities is central to the process of improved security and social stability in the region. Within this context, the following sectors and themes would need to be prioritised by the EU:
5.1. Livestock/pastoralism
Pastoralism represents the main economic activity in the drought-prone lowlands of the Horn of Africa; and mobile livestock rearing has proven to be the most efficient land use system in these environments. In food security terms meat and milk produced by pastoralists represent the main source of animal proteins, vitamins and micronutrients for the populations of the region – with particularly important nutritional implications for women and children. Moreover the livestock sector offers an important potential for economic development and regional integration; livestock exports from Somaliland and Puntland to the Arabian Peninsula increasingly provide a vital source of finance for many households and national/local authorities and ensures import of food staples critical for local coping strategies.
However, growing restrictions to livestock mobility and access to land represent major threats to food security amongst pastoralists and contributes to conflicts, overgrazing and depletion of natural resources. This calls for attention to natural resource management and governance (see below), using policy guidance provided by the African Union's Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa (2011) as well as the IGAD Livestock Policy Initiative (2010).
Adequate access to land and markets are critical to enable sustainable development in pastoral areas. This implies that mobility and access to rangeland resources need to be secured, while market opportunities should be enhanced through (well-tailored) livestock production support. Improving the value of livestock commodities is critical to enhance access to local, regional
E.g. in the AU/IGAD framework to end drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa
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and international markets so that the pastoral economy could integrate into and contribute to regional development; the latter includes services for livestock health and quality assurance, and investments for local value addition through product diversification, processing and packaging. In order to support such processes adequate governance and investments are needed to support access to basic resources, such as land and water, functioning infrastructure, accessible markets, and the primary services (social, financial, veterinary) to support human capital and livestock productivity in drylands13.
Taking into account that lowlands contain diverse and complex agro-ecological systems, and acknowledging that population growth puts limits to the expansion of agricultural systems, a balanced diversification of livelihoods should be pursued, based on the choice of the local population. A number of people may move away from pastoralism as a way of life, towards alternative livelihoods. This requires adequate levels of education and skills, as well as access to infrastructure, opportunities and services that make such alternative livelihoods viable.
Box 3 - The eradication of Rinderpest
Rinderpest was a devastating disease affecting livestock in many regions of the world. Since the global eradication campaign began in the 1960s, the EU contributed over EUR 203 million to Africa (EUR 340 million worldwide) to free farmers from this disease. A series of coordinated interventions were implemented (JP15, PARC and PACE) at pan African level and when the infection was eventually confined to the Horn of Africa region, the EU co-financed a regional initiative, the Somali Ecosystem Rinderpest Eradication Coordination (SERECU), worth EUR 4 million, to ensure the final eradication of Rinderpest from the continent. As a result of the coordinated approach and the technical support by AU-IBAR, FAO and OIE, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have been granted Rinderpest-free status by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and global eradication was declared in June 2011. The story shows that long-term commitment and funding could provide important positive impacts on the life of pastoral communities.
5.2. Natural resource management
The lowlands of the Horn of Africa present a rich-but-fragile natural resource base, containing important biodiversity hotspots. However, various factors contribute to a process of degradation, including changes in land use, population growth and climate change. Conflicts, partially related to increasing pressure and access to resources, exacerbate the situation. Adequate institutions, policies, regulation and investments are needed to improve the sustainability of natural resource management use at different levels.
More specifically, improvements are required in the management of rangelands and of water resources. Improved rangeland management requires agreements on mobility and land use at national and regional levels. Equally, water management involves developing policy frameworks at regional level in relation with trans-border water bodies and aquifers, and enhanced use of sustainable access regimes and water use (and harvesting) techniques at national and local levels.
ILRI, 2011. An assessment of the response to the 2008-2009 drought in Kenya. A report to the
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5.3. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
Considering the recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa and the likely increased occurrence of extreme weather events (including floods), the region will need to enhance capacities to adapt to climate change and manage the risk of these events turning into real disasters. In the past years, through EU funded projects, widespread experience has been gained on various ways to reduce such risks, including the operation of safety nets (involving cash, food and/or voucher systems), emergency fodder/water provision, livestock insurance, as well as pilot solutions to strengthen the early warning systems and disaster management at community level, including in cross-border environment. Specific actions have also been supported to strengthen institutional linkages of communities and local disaster management institutions with national and regional DRR structures. Advocacy efforts towards development partners to scale up pilot interventions and integrate the best practices have also been a strong priority of DRR interventions in the region.
Box 4 - Drought Risk Reduction innovations at work in arid and semi-arid lands in northern Kenya
The Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) in Kenya uses direct cash payments to meet basic subsistence needs. An innovative feature of HSNP’s approach is tailoring its delivery of social assistance to pastoralists’ mobility through the use of smartcards that can be redeemed at different agents or equity banks spread across the programme’s focal area of northern Kenya. In this manner the risks of limiting pastoralists’ mobility is minimised. Another innovation is an Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) to address the effects of climate shocks to livestock herds in pastoral areas. The insurance contract is based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from satellite imagery to construct a trigger point for insurance pay-out.
The EU has been supporting drought risk reduction pilot operations at community level in the arid and semi arid lands of Kenya since 2006 through its humanitarian funding. At the time of the 2011 drought, 8 pilot humanitarian operations were being implemented in Kenya, including 5 operations across the borders between Kenya and Ethiopia, or Kenya and Uganda and Ethiopia and Somalia (Somaliland). These operations have led to success stories, such as in the FunanQumbi and Torbi communities. Enhancing the preparedness of these communities has allowed them to take appropriate measures to minimize their economical losses when signs of drought were developing. The implementation of their disaster management plan led to the timely de-stocking of their livestock, giving these communities the means to pay for basic needs (i.e. animal health services, water and/or transport of their remaining livestock to areas were pasture was still available). At the same time, preemptive inter-community discussions facilitated joint management of natural resources at the time of drought, ending a long lasting conflict over water amongst Oromo groups. While neighbouring communities were in need of external assistance as early as December 2011, supported communities were better prepared to cope with the effects of drought, without external assistance, until February 2012.
The replication of the current pilot operations and the integration of the best practices and lessons learned into development strategies and national policies could be scaled up. A prerequisite is often that adequate food security information systems – including early warning systems, as well as nutritional information systems – be operational and harmonised at regional level. EU assistance has been instrumental in developing and operating such schemes, an achievement that will need to be sustained and expanded to cover the region. Cooperation with customary institutions, local authorities as well as national and regional drought management agencies could be enhanced.
5.4. National and Regional Trade
Enhanced resilience of rural communities in the lowlands of the Horn requires the facilitation of trade at all levels. Regular exchange of livestock, agricultural and other products provides economic and nutritional opportunities to agro-pastoralists in the lowlands, as well as highland producers. For such exchange to be mutually beneficial, several trade preconditions need to be fulfilled: the ability to reach markets, good information about market opportunities, the absence of dominant market powers, reliability of product quality and relative stability in the terms of trade.
The EU can assist in facilitating trade in the lowlands of the Horn of Africa by investing in physical infrastructure (roads, markets, cold-stores, telecommunications), in the availability and reliability of market information, or in improving the quality and traceability of local products. At the IGAD level, the EU could provide assistance to facilitate cross-border trade and integrate trade regulations.
Box 5 – Facilitating livestock trade through technical training
The Sheikh Technical Veterinary School and Reference Centre (STVS) has been an important factor in facilitating exports of high quality livestock. The STVS is located in Somaliland in the heartland of pastoral areas in the Horn of Africa. Funded by the EU, Denmark and Italy, the STVS was initiated in 2002 and implemented by Terra Nuova under the auspices of African Union, Inter-regional Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), and later IGAD. STVS currently offers two diploma courses in Livestock Health Sciences and in Livestock Product Development and Entrepreneurship as well as certificate courses, residentially and on line. In 2011, STVS had a student population of 95, including a growing number of girls (20%). The availability of competent human resources to support the health certification of livestock at the Somali ports, together with the existence of the quarantines, contributed to the lifting of the livestock export ban from Somalia by the traditional trading partners.
5.5. Nutrition
The protracted nature of emergencies in the Horn of Africa has generally implied chronically high rates of acute malnutrition, necessitating continuous humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian response is usually too late to prevent malnutrition and therefore the predominant reaction is to provide malnutrition treatment and food aid, including the provision of ready to use foods. However, improvements in nutritional status are better achieved through an integrated response based on a sound understanding of the local causes of under-nutrition. Evaluations highlight that interventions appear more effective where they take into account a multi-sectoral and multi-annual approach in tackling the problem of under-nutrition. Therefore, direct nutrition actions (both curative and preventative) should be scaled up, in conjunction with assistance to context specific mechanisms for strengthening food security, improving access and availability to quality water, sanitation and hygiene, and access to quality health and education services.
Emergency health and nutrition interventions that reinforce public health services have also demonstrated success, particularly in the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM). The importance of the political and technical leadership of Ministries of Health, ensuring supplies and staff and integrating the humanitarian response with existing health infrastructure is paramount. Again, humanitarian funding and mechanisms face limits in being able to support the full integration and overall effectiveness of nutrition interventions within national health programming. Longer-term assistance is essential for sustained effectiveness.
5.6. Governance
The EU Strategic Framework for the Horn recognises that supporting better, transparent and accountable institutions and the development and implementation of suitable policies can benefit the Horn populations. An appropriate governance framework is vital for sustained resilience of various (vulnerable) groups in the Horn of Africa, including pastoralists. Such a framework covers multiple administrative levels and touches upon themes of access to resources, conflict prevention and management, and inclusiveness in planning and administration. For pastoralist communities, the governance mechanisms that regulate access to grazing lands and water resources are of particular relevance.
Several frameworks have been developed that are relevant to improve governance in the region's drylands14. EU assistance could be helpful to facilitate the translation of such policy intents into development practice as well as in building adequate capacities of the organisations involved in formulating and implementing the regional and national initiatives. The IGAD Secretariat and other relevant organs related to drought preparedness and mitigation and trade facilitation need support, as do the decentralisation processes and capacity building of administrations and institutions at various levels. The strengthening of pastoralist grassroots organisations and networks would also provide a useful avenue for their involvement in policy debates, consultations, planning and conflict resolution.
Box 6 – Advocating disaster risk reduction in the dry lands.
The Regional Learning and Advocacy Programme (REGLAP) is an EU-funded project aiming to reduce the vulnerability of dry land communities through policy and practice change in the Horn and East Africa. The project advocates and raises awareness among developmental planners and decision/policy makers on disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the Horn region. Working through a consortium of NGOs, REGLAP, has contributed to increase the capacity of international and national civil society organisations to document evidence-based practices from DRR pilot projects implemented at community level. The consortium has made a significant contribution to the promotion of DRR at national and local level, disseminating lessons learnt and good practice, through the various documents produced, such as newsletters and technical briefs.
In the framework of the Africa Union Pastoral Policy Framework, REGLAP has also been highlighting practices that could reduce the vulnerability to drought of communities whose livelihood is mainly based on pastoralism. In the Karamoja region of Uganda, as well as in the arid and semi arid areas of Kenya, the EU-funded KALIP and KRDP programmes, are now scaling up some of the most successful pilot community projects.
5.7. Research
Decision-making depends on adequate evidence-based knowledge and reliable information. Nevertheless, not all of the environmental and socio-economic conditions and dynamics in the vulnerable areas of the Horn of Africa are sufficiently understood, while regular and recent quality information is unavailable. In order to better inform future policy / decision making and related investments in the region, a number of development-oriented research activities are required, related to:
These include the 'Framework and Guidelines for Land Policy in Africa' (2009), the 'Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa' (2011), various documents in the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), as well as the IGAD Livestock Policy Initiative
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• Socio-economic and environmental conditions and dynamics, including demographic trends, livestock population dynamics, interactions between different livelihood systems, trade and market dynamics, changes in access to land, vegetation, water and land-use dynamics, as well as developments in institutional settings (customary rules, local authorities, social networks, remittance schemes);
• Climate change effects and options, including adaptation and risk management strategies, the role of pastoral rangelands in carbon sequestration and possibilities for carbon trading and payment schemes for environmental services;
• Effects of technological innovations, for instance recent ICT-based innovations to provide mobile basic services to pastoralists.
EU assistance for such research could involve the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and relevant research institutions in the region, including those of the CGIAR-systems (such as the International Livestock Research Institute). Furthermore, valuable lessons can be drawn from researching recent experiences in EU-funded development projects as well as from other development agencies.
5.8. Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Refugees and IDPs are of particular concern in the Horn of Africa. The region hosts the largest refugee camp on earth: Dadaab (North Kenya) with about half a million people. In addition there are refugees in Djibouti and large numbers of Somali, Sudanese and Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, while IDPs are numerous in Somalia, as well as in Sudan and South Sudan. These large population movements are generally caused by conflict, political unrest, authoritarian rule, dwindling resources and natural disasters.
Although some of the population movements are temporary, others appear long-term, requiring appropriate response mechanisms. A repetitive emergency approach is not suitable for such a situation which, rather, requires a specific LRRD approach, with different instruments reinforcing each other. Experiences in Dadaab can serve as inspiration, not only as regards refugee camps themselves, but also the areas surrounding the camps where investments are required in services and economic infrastructure.
At the peak of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, over 55,000 Somali refugees arrived in Dadaab refugee camps (in Kenya) per month. The massive influx of new refugees from Somalia, more than half of whom are children, has added to already pressing needs at Dadaab for more classrooms, desks, stationery, textbooks and teachers. Through limited short term humanitarian funding,the EU has been supporting education in Dadaab in 2011. Meanwhile, EDF funding has been allocated from the Somalia envelope to tackle education issues in Dadaab with a longer term perspective.
In general, adequate strategies and investments are needed to facilitate the reintegration and/or relocation of current refugee/displaced and destitute populations in different parts of the region. This involves investments in the skills and capacities of the target population, for them to be able to make use of economic opportunities in communities where they will settle.
Box 7 - Education in Dadaab
6. Conclusions
At regional level, as well as in the various countries of the Horn, priorities should be identified in conjunction with the regional and national plans to define the main thrust of post-2013 EU assistance, to provide additional guidance to the programming process for the period 2014-2020 (11th EDF). Given the commitment of IGAD and the IGAD countries to end drought emergencies in the Horn of Africa, as well as their subscription to the CAADP targets and processes, a prioritisation of agriculture, food security and/or rural development for EU cooperation in all countries of the Horn of Africa would be expected. The upcoming 11th EDF programming process will be the appropriate moment for partner Governments and organisations to express their commitment to these objectives, and for the EU to align its support to relevant programmes and plans developed by the AU and IGAD, especially the 'Initiative to End Drought Emergencies in the Horn of Africa' and, more widely, to the CAADP framework and the AU initiatives on pastoralism and land tenure.