EU-UN cross border project to open third field office in the Horn of Africa

October 8, 2020

Copyright: Anna Moghilda

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 07 October 2020. The European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) joint Cross Border Project have recently established its third field office in Dollo Ado, a town in southern Ethiopia bordering Somalia and Kenya. The field office will further contribute to attaining the efficient and effective delivery of the EU co-funded project, Support for Effective Cooperation and Coordination of Cross-Border Initiatives (SECCCI) in Southwest Ethiopia – Northwest Kenya, Marsabit – Borana and Dawa, and Kenya – Somalia – Ethiopia.  

The Dollo Ado office will cover the SECCCI project’s activities and impacts in Mandera-Gedo-Doolow-Dawa areas at the Ethiopian, Kenyan and Somali borders. Activities are funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), co-funded by the UN, and implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

The SECCCI project regularly convenes the EUTF Cross-Border Programmes’ implementing partners and stakeholders, creating a hub towards enhancing coordination and building partnerships with actors intervening in the area.

The field team actively cooperates with national and local governments, communities, civil society and stakeholders and will continue to assess and understand the current peace and conflict situations affecting cross-border communities, create awareness on the existing Memorandums of Understanding between neighbouring countries, review peace agreements and protocols, and share community views and concerns on peace building and conflict prevention.

In addition, the project  focuses on enhancing ecosystems and community resilience in cross border areas and on creating more stable and conducive peace and development conditions in the borderland areas of Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

The SECCCI Dollo Ado office is part of a regional strategy that began in 2019 with the project’s field offices opening in Moyale town, southern Ethiopia bordering Kenya and in Lodwar town, northern Kenya bordering Ethiopia. All three field offices aim to promote peace building and conflict management and to accelerate cooperation between Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia on cross-border matters.

Background:

The SECCCI project was initiated in February 2018 and is funded by the EUTF, with co-financing contributions from UNDP and UNEP, with a total budget of $10 million.

The project is implemented by the UNDP RSCA in partnership with IGAD, UNEP and UNDP Country Offices in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The implementation is closely coordinated with the national and local governments of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.  

The specific objectives of the project are:

  • To strengthen regional policy frameworks, structures and protocols for cross-border cooperation between national and local governments, the private sector, civil society and international technical and financial development partners;
  • To build capacities of communities, local governments and civil society to fully engage in processes for the development planning and results;
  • To ensure effective cooperation and coordination, monitoring and evaluation of cross-border initiatives including involvement of relevant national and regional actors in these processes.

To deliver on these objectives, the SECCCI project focuses on three cross-border clusters:

  • Omo-Turkana at the Kenyan and Ethiopian Border (Cluster I);
  • Marsabit-Borana and Liben at the Kenyan and Ethiopian border (Cluster II);
  • Mandera-Gedo-Doolow-Dawa at the Ethiopian, Kenyan and Somali border (Cluster III).

For more information: Simone Beccaria, Project Manager, EU-UN Cross Border Project (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia), simone.beccaria@undp.org