Multinational - Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Programme in the Horn of Africa - Phase I

General

The proposed project is the second intervention in a long term Bank Programme to build communities’ resilience to drought and Climate Change, improve their livelihood and promote regional integration in the Horn of Africa. The program purpose is to address the root causes of the drought crisis (which drives the fragility of the region), through a comprehensive and integrated list of interventions that fit into the following areas: (i) Support to infrastructure for water resources mobilization and management; (ii) Support to infrastructure for agricultural development (with an emphasis on livestock); and (iii) Support to transport and sub-national and regional trade; and (iv) Support to complementary capacity building and income diversifying activities. Project II aims to scale up the Program interventions in Ethiopia and extend it to Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. It will be implemented in a period of 5 years and its total cost is UA 81.667 million. Its implementation is expected to develop infrastructures for i) water mobilisation and management, and ii) livestock production, health and marketing. The project will also build the capacity of the populations and Governments of the region to better cope with the effects of climate change, resources scarcity and conflicts related to resources utilisation. An estimated 20 million agro-pastoralists affected by drought and land degradation will directly benefit from the project.

Objectives

The Project development goal is to enhance drought resilience and improve sustainable livelihoods of agro-pastoral communities in the Horn of Africa region.

Target Groups

An estimated 20 million agro-pastoralists affected by drought and land degradation will directly benefit from the project. Other direct beneficiaries include the Governments of the region whose capacities will be strengthened to enhance drought resilience development, natural resources management and shared benefits, and regional integration. Ultimately, the project is expected to increase the income of agro-pastoralists through the improvement of the delivery of livestock related services (animal production and health, rangeland management, marketing, etc.) and the development of irrigation schemes leading to the improvement of livestock parameters (growth rate, carcass weight, milk production and offtake rate) and, the productivity/production of the main crops. The diversification of the sources of livelihood and the mobilization/conservation of water resources as envisioned by the project will reduce the vulnerability of the population to climate change shocks and exposure to inter/intracommunity conflicts that arise from competition over access to water sources for livestock. Women and youth will particularly benefit from the project as specific activities (including value addition) will be designed to enhance their economic and social integration/empowerment. Ultimately, these expected outcomes are expected to contribute to fostering peace and social resilience within the project communities and countries.