A joint project review meeting of Integrating Peace Development and Humanitarian Effort (IPDHE) that involved all partner organizations was held in Moyale Town on February 12, 2024. The cross-border triple nexus project review meeting was presided over by Ato Temesgen Tilahun, VSO Country Director, in which project managers, safeguarding, monitoring and evaluation staff, CDG and national volunteers took part. It is a cross border partnership project run by VSO-Ethiopia and CDG from Ethiopia and VSO-Kenya and HODI from Kenya and national volunteers from both countries. All implementing partners took part in the review program to jointly review the progress of implementation of activities of the project.
The partnership project, which is funded by Austrian Development Agency (ADA), is under implementation in the conflict prone and disaster risk sensitive border Kebeles of Miyo and Moyale Districts of Ethiopia and the adjacent Mersabet County of the Republic of Kenya.
The objective of the joint meeting was to review progress of the project implementation thereby identify successes, challenges, and lesson learned in order to draw inputs for the improvement of future actions. Accordingly, participants seriously held discussion over the report presented by project managers from both sides and in due course identified strengths, weaknesses, and challenges faced in the implementation process. Finally, each party was tasked with assignments to overcome weakness; speed up implementation of the plan to complete delayed activities; and timely implement the rest of the activities. To this effect, the participants agreed to strengthen their collaboration; speed up joint actions; and provide mutual support through experience sharing.
The CDG and HODI in particular discussed the possibilities of joint action and identified the following pertinent areas of cooperation:
- Establishment of Sololo-Miyo joint Cross Border Peace Committee. (Simultaneously, provide support to the existing Peace Committees in Miyo through facilitation of monthly dialogues at kebele level);
- Provide joint training of Sololo–Miyo cross border Peace Committee members. (These two points are part of the action plan prepared by the community during capacity assessment and training sessions);
- Support cross border policy issues via exchange of experience and synchronizing the policy issue; and
- Facilitating Cross-border Exchange of visit among community members. (These two were previously planned as IPDHE project activity aimed to supporting the community’s plans to strengthen its institutions of peace building and conflict management).
Since the above areas of cooperation require additional time, the CDG and HODI agreed to meet bi-weekly at the project level.