USAID is funding a Civil Society Organizations’ Strengthening Program (CSOSP) whose objective is to strengthen Djiboutian civil society organizations (CSOs)  to foster accountable governance and improve service delivery.   By the end of the project, CSOSP’s civil society partners will be better able to mobilize citizens to constructively advocate for improvements in service delivery in targeted sectors.  The project will also support civic-governmental collaboration at the local and national levels.  CSOSP will involve a mix of technical assistance, training, capacity development and, will work with and within existing and future USAID activities in health, education, energy sector development, and workforce development to ensure that transparency, accountability, and participatory governance approaches are more deliberately integrated.  Community-level accountability will be introduced via the revitalization of sector-based community associations, such as school-level PTAs, facility level health committees, community-level energy associations, organizations that support disaster risk reduction/mitigation and relief activities, and other community-based/grassroots organizations.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development 

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is a regional African inter-governmental organization comprised of eight (8) member states, the Republics of Djibouti, Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda,  and the Federal Republic of Somalia, with a broad mandate that includes resolution of regional conflicts, food security across borders, environmental protection, promotion and maintenance of peace and security, humanitarian affairs, economic cooperation and integration, and resilience.  It’s mission is to assist and complement the efforts of its member states in the areas of Peace and Security, Agriculture and Environment, and Economic Cooperation and Social Development. IGAD is headquartered in Djibouti.

USAID supports IGAD directly through programs led by USAID/Kenya and East Africa (KEA) in Nairobi. IGAD has received continuous support from USAID since 2006, when the two parties signed a Limited Scope Grant Agreement (LSGA) to address pastoral and related conflicts in the Horn of Africa (HOA), which later expanded to other sectors. In 2016 IGAD was designated as a Public International Organization and in the same year USAID/KEA and IGAD signed a new five-year Regional Development Objectives Agreement focusing on three development objectives: Sustainable regional economic integration advanced; Improved management of risks that transcend borders; and, East African institutions’ leadership and learning strengthened. KEA continues to implement regional programs with IGAD.

IGAD has several specialized institutions. The newest, and of most importance to the Djibouti Mission because it is headquartered in Djibouti, is the IGAD Center of Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE).  The P/CVE Center brings together State and non-state actors to build resilience against violent extremism in the Horn and Eastern Africa, and to strengthen coordination among member states.

Other IGAD specialized centers that USAID supports are the Conflict Early Warning and Response Network (CEWARN) based in Addis Ababa,  IGAD’s Climate Prediction and Application Center (ICPAC) based in Nairobi and IGAD’s Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI), a program led by Platform Coordinating Unit based in the IGAD Secretariat in Djibouti. The IGAD Center for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD), a specialized institution headquarters in Nairobi also participates in IDDRSI.

While USAID/Djibouti does not have a direct relationship with IGAD, it engages on regional and transboundary issues that affect Djibouti.

Previous US Ambassadors have attended IGAD functions in Djibouti and have participated in the signing ceremonies for USAID regional agreements with IGAD.