Intergovernmental Authority On Development Research Articles

Türkiye Multilateral Relationship: The Case of East Africa, IGAD, and EAC

The 21st century geopolitical landscape has experienced a significant shift towards multidimensional cooperation and partnerships that transcend traditional borders. Türkiye, with its unique geographic position bridging Europe and Asia, has emerged as a prominent player in fostering diplomatic and economic relationships across continents. In recent years, Türkiye has particularly focused on East Africa, as well as its associations with regional bodies such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East African Community (EAC). This commentary examines the opportunities and challenges that characterize Türkiye’s interactions with these regions, evaluating the potential benefits and areas of friction in advancing these partnerships.

Navigating chaos: IGAD's efforts Amidst Somalia's Governance crisis

This study investigates how effectively Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has addressed the crisis in Somalia since 1991, using realism theory as its analytical framework. It employs a qualitative case study approach to delve into IGAD's interventions and their implications, conducting an in-depth analysis of IGAD's official documents, resolutions, and crisis-related reports concerning Somalia. By applying realism theory, the study scrutinizes IGAD's actions and motivations from a perspective centered on power politics, highlighting the significance of state interests and regional stability. It suggests that IGAD member states may resist to cooperate when they perceive IGAD's engagement in Somalia is regarded as a threat to their security interests. Despite IGAD's numerous peace initiatives, achieving sustainable peace in Somalia remains elusive. The paper asserts that while IGAD has made substantial efforts to resolve the Somalia conflict, its effectiveness has been constrained by the complexity of the conflict, external influences, and divergent interests among member states. To enhance IGAD's effectiveness, the study recommends various actions, including promoting regional economic integration, mobilizing external resources, improving transparency and accountability, fostering regional identity and solidarity, and maintaining a balanced power dynamic to prevent dominance by any single entity. Applying these measures could significantly improve IGAD's capacity to support peace and stability in Somalia and the entire East Africa region.

The Role of Regional Multi-Actor Mediators: The Case of IGAD in the Ethiopia-Tigray Conflict

ABSTRACT Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is a regional organization with institutional experience in active conflict mediation, accumulated over many years. The emerging conflict in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray – and specifically the fact that the conflict involved Ethiopia, considered to be one of the most significant powers in East Africa and a prominent member of IGAD – posed new challenges to the organization’s mediation efforts. As such, it is important to ask what the role of regional mediation is, or how effective can such mediation be when a significant regional power is involved in an intrastate conflict with major potential regional implications. This article addresses this question considering the conflict that has engulfed Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray since November 2020 and argues that IGAD’s late response and hesitant stand on its role as mediator in this conflict, which was related to Ethiopia’s status in the organization and the region, was a lesson that IGAD should learn regarding its involvement in current and future conflicts. Furthermore, the specific timing of the Ethiopia-Tigray crisis, which coincided with an acute climate crisis in the region, underscores the fact that IGAD must move beyond a mediation role and propose more viable ways of coping with the devastating interwoven consequences of human-made conflicts and climate hazards, especially in view of IGAD member states’ common vulnerabilities based on its experience in conflict mediation, both in relation to the Ethiopia-Tigray conflict and in other conflicts.

Impact-based flood forecasting in the Greater Horn of Africa

Abstract. Every year Africa is hit by extreme floods which, combined with high levels of vulnerability and increasing population exposure, often result in humanitarian crises and population displacement. Impact-based forecasting and early warning for natural hazards is recognized as a step forward in disaster risk reduction, thanks to its focus on people, livelihoods, and assets at risk. Yet, the majority of the African population is not covered by any sort of early warning system. This article describes the setup and the methodological approach of Flood-PROOFS East Africa, an impact-based riverine flood forecasting and early warning system for the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA), with a forecast range of 5 d. The system is based on a modeling cascade relying on distributed hydrological simulations forced by ensemble weather forecasts, link to inundation maps for specific return period, and application of a risk assessment framework to estimate population and assets exposed to upcoming floods. The system is operational and supports the African Union Commission and the Disaster Operation Center of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the daily monitoring and early warning from hydro-meteorological disasters in eastern Africa. Results show a first evaluation of the hydrological reanalysis at 78 river gauging stations and a semi-quantitative assessment of the impact forecasts for the catastrophic floods in Sudan and in the Nile River basin in summer 2020. More extensive quantitative evaluation of the system performance is envisaged to provide its users with information on the model reliability in forecasting extreme events and their impacts.

Conflict Prevention in Sub-Regional Institutions: The Case Study of IGAD in Ethiopia from 2015-2020

Conflict prevention is the primary objective of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Despite efforts made by the institution, it has, however, not succeeded in preventing conflict in Ethiopia. IGAD, like other sub-regional institutions in Africa, has established an early warning early response mechanism and a Mediation Support Unit that is aimed at preventing conflicts. The study examines the legal and institutional framework of IGAD for conflict prevention. A qualitative case study research design was employed in this study. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to select eighteen informants for the study, and data was collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews, document reviews, and literature reviews. Five themes have been identified for data analysis. The findings show that the legal and institutional framework of IGAD is relevant for preventing conflict, however, it has identified several limitations within and beyond the scope of the legal and institutional framework.

Trade–peace conundrum in Africa: The moderating effects of poverty and inequality

AbstractThis paper examines the trade–peace nexus in Africa and ascertains how poverty and inequality tilt the relationship in the eight regional (economic) blocs in Africa, viz. the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), from 1998 to 2020 using the Driscoll–Kraay estimate. The study contributes to the literature by disaggregating the peace effect of trade in Africa by the regional (economic) blocs to allow for in‐depth and context‐specific analysis. The paper also expands the scope of existing studies by examining the direct effect of poverty and inequality on peace in addition to the indirect effect that is revealed through their interactions with trade integrations. The findings reveal that trade promotes peace in Africa, while wide income inequality and a large poverty gap increase the likelihood of conflict. The interaction of poverty and inequality with trade integration shows that while the poverty level does not improve the effect of trade on peace, inequality reduces the impact of trade on peace. The study concludes that poverty and inequality play significant roles in the trade–peace nexus in Africa. Policy recommendations are discussed.

Observed changes in wet days and dry spells over the IGAD region of eastern Africa

Changes in wet and dry patterns have an impact on rain-fed agriculture, crop productivity, and food security in Eastern Africa. The purpose of this research is to look into the changes in wet days and dry periods within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region. Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Station Data (CHIRPS) and Multi Models Ensembles (MME) of 10 historical simulations and projections from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) models were employed as the data source. Several statistical approaches, as well as wet and dry spell thresholds, were used to calculate patterns of change in wet and dry spells on a decadal (10-year), 20, 30, and 41-year time scale. The results show the region exhibits decrease a decrease in the number of wet days and protracted dry spells in the 1980s, followed by an extraordinary (exceptional) increase in wet days in the subsequent decades (2011–2020) during March–May (MAM), June–September (JJAS), and October-December (OND). In Kenya, Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti, the probability of surpassing 7, 14, 21, 28 days (1, 2, 3, 4 spells) was less than 5%. Furthermore, floods in 1997, 2018, 2019, and 2020, as well as droughts in 1983, 1984, 1985, and 2021, were triggered by an increase or decrease in the number of wet days and dry spells over most of the region. The number of wet days is projected to decrease by 10–20% during the MAM season across Sudan, South Sudan, and central and northern Ethiopia, JJAS is projected to increase by 30–50% across central and northern Sudan. However, during the OND season, increases are projected over Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5) scenarios. These findings contributed to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the IGAD region, as well as decision-making, food security, and the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies. We encourage rain-fed agriculture, crop variety planning, and irrigation supplement.

New Functionalities and Regional/National Use Cases of the Anomaly Hotspots of Agricultural Production (ASAP) Platform

The Anomaly hotSpots of Agricultural Production (ASAP) Decision Support System was launched operationally in 2017 for providing timely early warning information on agricultural production based on Earth Observation and agro-climatic data in an open and easy to use online platform. Over the last three years, the system has seen several methodological improvements related to the input indicators and to system functionalities. These include: an improved dataset of rainfall estimates for Africa; a new satellite indicator of biomass optimised for near-real-time monitoring; an indicator of crop and rangeland water stress derived from a water balance accounting scheme; the inclusion of seasonal precipitation forecasts; national and sub-national crop calendars adapted to ASAP phenology; and a new interface for the visualisation and analysis of high spatial resolution Sentinel and Landsat data. In parallel to these technical improvements, stakeholders and users uptake was consolidated through the set up of regionally adapted versions of the ASAP system for Eastern Africa in partnership with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), for North Africa with the Observatoire du Sahara et du Sahel (OSS), and through the collaboration with the Angolan National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics (INAMET), that used the ASAP system to inform about agricultural drought. Finally, ASAP indicators have been used as inputs for quantitative crop yield forecasting with machine learning at the province level for Algeria’s 2021 and 2022 winter crop seasons that were affected by drought.

Evaluation of CMIP6 historical simulations over IGAD region of Eastern Africa

The Accuracy of model simulations is critical for climate change and its socio-economic impact. This study evaluated23 Global climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6). The main objective was to identify the top 10 best performance models in capturing patterns of rainfall for the 1981–2014 period over the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region of Eastern Africa. The total rainfall, annual cycle, continuous, categorical and Volumatic statistical metrics, scatter plots, Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF), and colored code portrait were used to assess the patterns of total rainfall. Results indicate that most CMIP6 models generally capture the characteristics of the observed climatology pattern of total rainfall, bimodal and unimodal rainfall regimes. The majority of models over Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan scored the lowest skills, highest bias, and over-estimated rainfall, and lower skills over June–September (JJAS) compared to March–May (MAM) and October-December (OND). Quantitatively, a high percent of bias exceeding 80% scored over ASALs, a high correlation coefficient ranging between 0.6 and 0.7 across Ethiopia’s highlands, and a 5–40 as the lowest Root Mean Squared Error scored over the majority of the region. In addition, 21 out of 23 CMIP6 over-estimated rainfall over most parts of the region. The ACCESS-ESM1-5 and MIROC6 are the most over-estimated models as opposed to CNRM-CM6-1HR as the most model under-estimated rainfall, highest bias, and RMSE values. The regional and sub-national analysis showed it is inconclusive to select best-performed models based on individual metrics and sub-national analysis. Out of 23 models, the INM-CM5-0, HadGEM3-GC31-MM, CMCC-CM2-HR4, IPSL-CM6A-LR, KACE-1-0-G, EC-Earth3, NorESM2-MM, GFDL-ESM4, TaiESM1, and KIOST-ESM are the best 10 performance models over IGAD region. These findings highlight the importance of selecting the best performance models for mapping present and future hotspots and extreme rainfall events over the IGAD region of Eastern Africa.

Best practices in the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization initiative: Perspectives of regulators and medicines manufacturers.

In the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization initiative, national regulatory authorities (NRAs) within each of Africa's regional economic communities coordinate their activities, rely on the work of one another and other trusted regulatory authorities, and apply other principles of smart regulation. The first regional medicines regulatory harmonization (MRH) initiative in Africa was launched in 2012, with the goal of accelerating access to quality, safe, effective medical products, and now five MRH initiatives are active on the continent. Thus, a wealth of knowledge regarding best practices and approaches to dealing with common challenges has accumulated. The goal of this qualitative study was to gather and share information on these best practices. To do this, we conducted interviews with key participants from four regional MRH initiatives-the East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-as well as representatives from the pharmaceutical industry. Here we explore major themes that emerged from the interviews: 1. Transparency and reliability are critical; 2. Reliance is essential for smart regulation; 3. Multiple successful strategies for NRA capacity building have been identified; 4. Communication between heads of agencies is essential; 5. Cooperation at the regional level is not possible without leadership at the NRA level; 6. Sustainable funding remains challenging; and 7. Industry has important insights. We hope that the information on best practices shared in this article can benefit regional MRH initiatives inside and outside of Africa, ultimately helping them accelerate access to quality, safe, effective medical products.

Leadership, nation-building and war in South Sudan: the problems of statehood and collective will

Leadership, nation-building and war in South Sudan explores the historical contradictions in the foundation of the South Sudanese state as well as the country's future prospects. The book is based on fieldwork research that the author conducted between 2015 and 2018. With a historical approach, Sonja Theron seeks to explain why ‘South Sudan has not known peace since 1955’ (p. 15). Here, the author is alluding to the reigniting of old political feuds, including the outbreak of the civil war in 2013. Theron revisits the history of conquests, slave trade and the Islamic sentiments that propelled the Mahdist revolt of the late 1880s, which she places in the context of the push for independence, which lasted from 1821 until the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war in 1955. With the support of Christian missionaries and the Anya Nya liberation movement in the 1960s, a South Sudanese political consciousness flourished. The book also illustrates how the shaky foundation of the postcolonial state triggered the emergence of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in 1983, with a broad-based alliance against marginalization. Three decades later, the SPLM invoked the right to self-determination for South Sudan's independence in 2011. Crucially, Theron points to the peace agreements that the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediated between 2002 and 2018, and their failure to address the root causes of the conflict. According to the author, IGAD sought to accommodate the political priorities of different factions, which allowed them to continue plundering the state and which ultimately worsened the country's underdevelopment and political fragility.

Migrant crisis in the East Africa region

The article examines the policy of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Eritrea in the context of the possibility of a coordinated response to the challenges of migrant crises. Large-scale and stable migration ties have developed between the countries that form the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in East Africa, and common principles of migration policy are being implemented, which indicates the formation of a unified migration system. The movement of migrants within the framework of the latter occurs along four major international routes: Horn of Africa route (between Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and neighboring countries of East Africa); Eastern route (from the countries of East Africa through Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen – mainly to the oil-producing countries of the Arabian Peninsula); Southern route (through Kenya, Uganda to South Africa); Northern route (through the countries of North Africa – to Italy and Spain; another branch runs through Egypt, Israel, the Arab countries of Asia and Turkey). The main weak point of the overall policy of the IGAD countries is that not all countries in the region have ratified the full set of intra-African agreements in the field of migration. It has been established that the migration crisis in the East Africa surpasses the European one in its scale and impact on the countries of the region and can lead to negative consequences on a global scale if the world community does not use the available resources – political and financial – to solve the whole range of problems that caused the crisis.

Application of real time S2S forecasts over Eastern Africa in the co-production of climate services

Application of real time S2S forecasts over Eastern Africa in the co-production of climate services

Complexities of international mediation at sub-regional levels in Africa: lessons from South Sudan

PurposeThe Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has been mediating the South Sudan conflict since 2013. IGAD’s intervention in South Sudan is anchored on its founding norm of peaceful settlement of regional conflicts and in reference to the principle of subsidiarity, under the Africa Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). However, it is puzzling how violence continued unabated even as conflict parties negotiated and signed numerous agreements under the auspices of IGAD. The parties to conflict seem unwilling to implement the 2018 peace agreement, which is arguably un-implementable. Yet, it appears that IGAD mediators were privy to this situation all along. The question that then arises is why IGAD would continue engaging in a mediation process that neither ends violence nor offers a promise of a resolution? Drawing out on empirical data, this paper argues that IGAD’s organisational structures and functionality are key to understanding and explaining the South Sudan phenomenon within broader discourses on peace and security regionalism in Africa. This paper suggests the need to pay attention to the embeddedness of political power dynamics in the structures and functionality of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs), such as IGAD, as one of the ways to (re)thinking and (re)orienting norms and practices of regional conflict management within the APSA and in pursuit of the “African solutions to African problems.”Design/methodology/approachData for this paper was obtained through document reviews and 39 elite interviews. The interviews were conducted with representatives of IGAD member states, bureaucrats of IGAD and its organs mediation support teams, conflict parties, diplomats and other relevant experts purposively selected based on their role in the mediation. The physical interviews were conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, with others conducted virtually. Analysis and presentation of findings are largely perspectival, highlighting coexistence of contending peacemaking ideas and practices. The discussions centre around inter-linked themes of IGAD’s conceptions of peace and approaches to peacemaking as informed by its structural and functional designs.FindingsFindings illustrate the complexity of the peace process and the centrality of power politics in IGAD’s peace and security arrangements. In view of the findings, this paper echoes the need for enhanced and predictable collaborative framework between IGAD and the African Union (AU) as central to the operationalisation of the APSA and pursuit of the African solutions to the African problems. Hence, this paper suggests transforming IGAD’s political program into a robust political bureau with predictable interlinkages and structured engagements between IGAD’s heads of state and government and the APSA’s Panel of the Wise (PoW).Originality/valueThe study is based on empirical data obtained through the researcher's own framed questions, and its argument is based on the researcher's own interpretations innovatively framed within existing theoretical framework, particularly hybrid peace theory. Based on the findings, this paper makes bold and practical recommendations for possible workable collaborative framework between IGAD and the AU under the APSA framework

Treatment Outcomes Among Notified Pulmonary Tuberculosis Cases in 67 Refugee Health Facilities in the Eastern Africa-IGAD Region: Historical Cohort, 2014-2017

Background: Refugees are at increased risk for Tuberculosis (TB). In 2020, more than 3.9 million refugees were hosted in refugee camps/settlements in member countries of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), East Africa. Regional evidence, therefore, on treatment outcome is important to improve the quality of TB care and strengthen the monitoring and evaluation system in the refugee settings. Objective: To assess trends of pooled TB treatment outcomes at the regional level and identify factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcome among patients with pulmonary TB (PTB), bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB (BCPTB) and clinically diagnosed pulmonary TB (CDPTB) in refugee camps in IGAD region from 2014 to 2017. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 67 refugee health facilities located in four countries (Ethiopia=25, Uganda=33, Kenya=5 and Sudan=4). Demographic and clinical data of all PTB patients registered between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017 were used. Descriptive analysis was done on the data and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify baseline covariates associated with unsuccessful treatment. Results: A total of 4,072 TB cases (42%, 28%, 12% and 19% were from Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda respectively) were included with more than half (62.4%) being BCPTB. 59.2% were males and 13.5% were HIV co-infected. The pooled treatment success rate (TSR) in the period under review was 80.7%. TSR was higher among the CDPTB compared to BCPTB cases in 2014 (86.5% vs. 81.3%), 2015 (87.5% vs. 84.8%) and 2016 (81.0 vs. 80.6%); but reversed in favour of BCPTB in 2017 (77.1% vs. 74.3%). Overall, 13.6% of the cases had unsuccessful treatment (treatment failed, died, or lost to follow-up). The factors significantly associated with unsuccessful treatment were positive HIV status (aOR 2.6[CI: 1.7 - 4.2]), male gender (aOR 1.7[CI: 1.4 - 3.8]), previous TB history (aOR 1.5[CI: 1.0 - 2.2]) and older age (aOR 1.7[CI: 1.1 - 2.8]). Conclusion: TB Treatment success rate in the refugee camps remained below the global target (≥ 90). TB-HIV co-infection, Male gender, previous history of treatment and age (15-34 &old age) increased the risk for unsuccessful treatment outcomes among PTB patients in the refugee camps.

IGAD and Regional Actors in the South Sudan Crisis: A Tale of Interests and Influence

The South Sudan crisis began in December 2013 after a political disagreement between the ruling elites within the SPLM (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement). The SPLM later split into the SPLM-FDS, SPLM-IO, and REAL–SPLM. A few days after the outbreak of the hostilities, some Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) members, such as Uganda, intervened militarily in the conflict, while other IGAD states used diplomatic intervention with the support of the African Union and Troika countries. Effort toward resolving the South Sudan conflict has mainly been centered on regional and international diplomacy. The high-level revitalization talks were initiated by IGAD to bring the warring parties in the country to the negotiation table. Despite the diplomatic negotiations, the agreements signed so far, including the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), have not lasted long because of structural and systemic challenges in their implementation. This article examines the role of IGAD peace diplomacy and conflict mediation in South Sudan by providing a comprehensive narration of the events before, during, and after the signing of the 2018 peace deal, highlighting key challenges that need to be addressed by the stakeholders and opportunities for the effective implementation of the agreement.

Experience in fostering regional collaboration and Coordination to use data for battling infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.

The emergence of COVID-19 highlights globalisation realties, where diseases may emerge from anywhere and rapidly spread globally. Lessons emphasise the necessity for strengthening regional and global collaboration and coordination to allow rapid risk identification, resource mobilisation and joint actions. We report the experience of the Regional Action through Data (RAD) partnership in fostering regional cooperation and collaboration to use data for battling infectious diseases and the effects of COVID-19. The Partnership comprised;BoadReach company, The West African Health Organization (WAHO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD); Duke University Global Health Centre and the Jembi Health Systems, South Africa.Main objective:To address the problem of limited used of data to drive performance in healthcare service delivery in sub-Saharan Africa; by changing how and why data is collected, analysed, and then used to achieve results.Specific objectives:1. Regional level: To equip and empower IGAD and WAHO with evidence-based analytics to drive data use for evidence-based policy and program action in public health (regional level). 2. Patient-provider level: To deploy and implement a digital health solution for child-hood vaccination services focused on mobile cross-border populations along the Uganda-Kenya border.Engagement approaches used included; meetings, workshops, technical working groups, establishing monitoring system and annual implementation revision. Targeted training and capacity building were conducted. All activities were built on existing systems and structures to strengthen ownership and sustainability.Regional level achievements:1. Regional health data sharing and protection policy, 2. Strengthened regional health information platform. Patient provider level: Deployment of a cloud based digital health solution to enhance childhood access to vaccination services for cross border populations of Kenya and Uganda, 3. Both regions developed resource mobilisation plans for sustainability.RAD established the foundation for building trust and strengthening regional collaboration and coordination in health in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The COVID-19 Pandemic in the IGAD Region: Consequence and Responses

This article examines the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region. In its epidemiological, as well as socio-economic dimensions, the pandemic presents extraordinary difficulties. The states in the region already suffer of dearth of basic medical equipment, medicines, personnel, health infrastructures and other health related materials. Early on, it also became clear that the Western world would not extend helping hand, in particular, with regard to crucially needed medical equipment and masks. The European Union’s decision not to sell medical equipment outside the bloc sent a clear signal that the region is on its own. Releasing this the governments of the region focused on measures of prevention. They, while on the one hand introduced severe lockdown, state of emergency and curfews, and on the other began to mobilise their social capital. The consequences of the total lockdown are yet to be properly assessed; however, socio-economic impacts are already immense. The article argues that dealing with the consequences of the pandemic requires pulling together all the resources of the region that depend on effective and coherent mobilisation and organisation of resources, capacities and social capital.

Evaluating the Challenges and Opportunities of the Use of Military Diplomacy in Intrastate Conflict Management in the Horn of Africa

Military diplomacy is increasingly relied on in the management of intra state conflicts globally. Far more common and controversial is the issue of combat troops to help end fighting in an intractable conflict. The Horn of Africa is an epitome of intractable regional intrastate conflicts that have attracted international, regional and even individual state military and humanitarian intervention since the 1970s. The Somalia and Sudan crises provide typical examples in which such efforts have been witnessed yet they also provide a case study of successful military diplomacy by African states in states engaged in protracted intra-state conflicts. This study was conceived to evaluate the challenges and opportunities of the use of military diplomacy in intrastate conflict management in the Horn of Africa. The study was located in the rational logic theory. It was carried out among peace groups and individuals who had participated in peace processes in the Horn of Africa. These were located in Mogadishu and Kismayu, Khartoum and Juba and embassies in Kenya that represent the Horn of Africa countries. Security personnel who have had a role in the Horn of Africa peace processes at African Union (AU), Inter - Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), East Africa Standby Force (EASF), United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), United Nations Africa (Union) Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and African (Union) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) were key informants. The study used purposive sampling and snowballing to determine the sample size. Data was collected using interview schedules and questionnaires which were analyzed using Concurrent Nested (Embedded) Design. Secondary data were gathered and reviewed from Journals, books and published proceedings that corroborated the primary data. The findings indicate that the obscurity of the military and the rubric in the understanding of military diplomacy poses a challenge for the military to influence intrastate conflicts in the Horn of Africa. This is compounded by other challenges including the Cold War mentality that has made the region to witness a series of foreign activities leading to militarization of the Horn of Africa with establishment of military bases in the Horn of Africa. Peace support operations are expensive to manage yet the missions undertaken in the Horn of Africa lack sustainable source of funds and instead over rely on foreign funding and goodwill. With no sufficient funds, buying equipment and paying the staff becomes a big challenge. Emerging threats and clan dynamics are actualities that the use of military diplomacy was found to face as a challenge. To change these challenges into opportunities requires rational logic from all stakeholders in the conflict management process

Elucidation of potential challenges and prospects for regional tuberculosis interventions in East and Horn of Africa: a cross-sectional program assessment.

Introductioncross-border mobility of persons with Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health concern. We aimed at documenting health systems´ potential bottlenecks and opportunities in pulmonary TB continuum of care in cross-border expanses of East and Horn of Africa.Methodsa cross-sectional program assessment with descriptive analysis of TB services, health staff capacities, diagnostic capacities, data management and reporting, and treatment outcomes. Data were extracted from health facility TB registers and semi-structured key informant interviews conducted in selected 26 cross-border sites within the 7 member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region.Resultsthe overall cross-border TB cure rate in the year preceding the study (37%) was way beneath the global target with considerable variations amongst the study countries. The restricted support to the cross-border health facilities was mediated and even exacerbated by expansive distances from the respective capital cities. Restricted geographical access to the facilities by cross-border populations was a longstanding challenge. Substantial staffing gaps, TB service delivery capacity needs and inadequate diagnostics were noticeable. The TB control guidelines were not harmonized between the countries and the inter-country referral systems were either absent or inappreciable, contributing to ineffective cross-border referrals and transfers. The frail linkages between stakeholders were contemptible, but increasing governments´ commitments in tackling infectious diseases were encouraging.Conclusioncross-border TB interventions should drive regional TB policies, strategies and programs that sustain countries´ coordination, harmonization of management guidelines, advocacy for increased human resources support, enhanced capacity building of cross-border TB staff, adequate diagnostics equipping of the cross-border health facilities and seamless transfer and referral of patients traversing boundaries.