A long term vision for Somalia - Nairobi, 26 September

This page is also available in Arabic

To read more on the rest of the conference, please read our Press Release. See photos of the meeting on our Flickr stream. Find out more on access in Somalia here and here. Download the full minutes and list of participants. Download the executive summary in English and Arabic.

Responding to the vast humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, The Humanitarian Forum and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation have stimulated collaboration and partnership by bringing together multilateral organisations, western and Islamic international NGOs and local NGOs from Kenya and Somalia.

On 15 August 2011, 61 people met to discuss immediate needs and emergency response plans for the Horn of Africa. On 26-27 September, over 120 delegates from more than 75 local, international, and multilateral humanitarian agencies participated in lively discussion about a longer-term vision for Somalia. As Dr Hany said in opening comments, "this diversity illustrates the deep commitment there is to Somalia ... Somalia may not have this opportunity again".

In opening comments:

Ambassador Atta Al Manane, OIC, questioned why famine recurs in Somalia and asked whether it is possible to talk about "development while the country is still at war ? Humanitarians can provide the answer."

Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Somali Red Crescent, said that Somalia has been trying to tell the world for 2 years about intense needs: "what is new about Somalia is media interest". He commented on the problems of concentrating on Mogadishu and bemoaned that most of the refugees are from the food basket of Somalia. He emphasized that the solutions are for Somalia to decide.

Rozanne Chorlton, acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, called for the different participants to work together. She added that the meeting is "extremely important, exactly what needs to happen. Focus on progress through partnership, rather than competition."

During the meeting, the key themes were:

Coordination:

Effective relief and recovery requires strong coordination within and among humanitarian agencies. Presentationsfrom UNOCHA and OIC demonstrated this. Kiki Gbeho (UNOCHA) said that "coordination saves lives and reduces suffering ... If we all agree on the problem, how do we all come together and effectively make a difference, regardless of the organizations we come from ?"

Speaking of the joint interests and practical engagement, Atta al Manane said "OIC and OCHA are already married". Ambassador Mostafa Khogary (League of Arab States) echoed this: "it is vital to look at moving from relief to recovery, and from competition to collaboration". Atta al Manane added that Muslim organizations are doing a huge job in Somalia but they need more capacity, funding, and training.

During the conference, there were several recommendations:

Shared information: early warning; quick access; detailed database; information to help long-term planning;
Link UN and OIC coordination systems; move to unitary coordination system;
Improve coordination at field level (this has started);
Advocacy: funding, humanitarian space, position on different groups in Somalia;
Media understanding.

Shared priorities for moving from relief to development:

Rozanne Chorlton emphasized that "recovery is a duty, there has been too much short-termism". Mohamed Ahmed Salem (IDB) summarized the ambition of the meeting: "We need to align all our programming with lazer accuracy to build a vulnerable person-centered approach and deliver aid with the best mix. We need to show we have one single agenda."

To encourage in-depth discussions on longer-term development plans for Somalia, participants were divided into groups: water, livestock and livelihoods, and food and agriculture. Each group put forward their vision for recovery, identifying main priorities, opportunities, challenges and recommendations. Shared priorities:

Continue emergency relief for those affected by the famine;
Work with government authorities in famine-affected areas to allow the displaced to return home;
Prioritise preparedness and DRR;
Ownership by the beneficiary community; participation of local communities/stakeholders to identify needs and implement projects;
Capacity-building for the local community and NGOs; involve business (local, Diaspora); Invest in adaptation (ie. reduce vulnerability to future drought), employment, education, skills training especially for women and youth;
Create more cash-based flexibility to support programmes; micro-finance to promote entrepreneurs;
Improve market access;
Improve the value chain (efficiency, marketing strategies), infrastucture and export of goods.

Priorities for water:

Restore existing sources to allow people to return to their areas; repair dams, boreholes;
Mobile water purification systems;
Alternative sources: alternative technology (diesel is expensive), rainwater;
Build capacity through training, spare parts for maintenance;
Research and analysis;
Human consumption; household water sanitation;
Water vouchers;
Private sector: funding, manage water resources.

Priorities for fishing, fish farming:

Raise awareness among locals; encourage more people to join the fishing sector;
Promote export-oriented business;
Extract secondary products eg fish oil;
Inputs: tools, nets, boats, maintenance, cold storage, ports;
Advocacy for protecting fishing communities.

Priorities for livestock, agriculture:

Encourage pastoralists to go back to their areas of origin; incentives for pastoralists;
Re-stocking; cross-breeding;
Invest in infrastructure, including rehabilitating irrigation (wells, canals, dams) and create new infrastructure where it is lacking; soil erosion control; wider environment;
Improve productivity, including farm input (seeds, tools, fertilizer) and technical assistance; management of agricultural production;
Establish research and training centres;
Regulation to safeguard farming industry.

Strengthening local civil society:

It is vital that the local community is involved at all stages, from planning to implementation - and that there is accountability to the local community. Dr Hany said, "We need to build the capacity of genuine local organizations ... to empower organizations that deserve to be empowered". Key issues that were discussed:

Local NGOs have better access to local communities and can mobilize assistance most immediately;
Prioritize local NGOs' training needs through mapping and assessments; capacity building must bear in mind local sensitivities;
INGOs should focus on funding, advocacy and training of local NGOs to ensure the sustainability of local agencies; the absence of relations between local and international organizations is a major challenge in Somalia;
A Somali NGO forum should be created that brings different actors together and allows for dialogue;
Fund raising is challenging, due to donor interests; link capacity building projects with other programmes (eg income generation projects linked with book keeping training).

This led to recommendations for operational agencies, coordination bodies and Governments.

In closing remarks, Atta Al Manane praised the interactive, genuine discussion. At the start of the Somali crisis organizations had worked independently: "This is the first time that such a selective, active group meets and discuss a better vision for the future." He added that this created responsibilities for everyone: "now, we need to put results on the ground". The ideas, frameworks and projects proposed have given the OIC a great responsibility.