Online, at 1pm EAT/12pm CEST

In the African continent, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region is considered one of the most vulnerable to climate variability and change and more than two thirds of the region are arid or semi-arid.The different forms of human mobility to, from, and within the IGAD region reflect the range of complex drivers and structural factors that can compel people to leave their places of origin. 

In accordance with the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) objectives, this Joint-Program seeks to minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin, while also facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration in the context of disasters, climate change and environmental degradation in the IGAD Region.

The Joint-Programme builds on ongoing work, programmes and action plans of the partners, and supports existing global policies and frameworks that address displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change. The Joint-Programme has a strong multi-partnership and multi-stakeholder approach and will bring together various parts of Governments, UN and other entities, in line with the GCM core principles of whole-of-government and whole-of-society.

The project implementing partners IOM, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the IGAD, the IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC), and IGAD Member states will organize this virtual launch event, with the objective to:

i)    introduce the regional Joint-Programme and its overall objectives to relevant stakeholders; 
ii)   demonstrate how the Joint-Programme will contribute to facilitating pathways for regular migration in the IGAD region and minimizing displacement risk in the context of climate change, environmental degradation and disasters in line with the vision and guiding principles of the GCM; 
iii)  take stock of existing frameworks, related work and potential synergies with the new Joint-Programme.

The launch will be hosted jointly by IOM and ILO with moderation and inputs from Participating UN Agencies, PDD, UNHCR and partners, IGAD Secretariat and ICPAC.

The virtual event will be run in English.

Relevant documents:

• Validated Roadmap for Implementation of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons
• Report on Disaster Displacement and Human Mobility in DRR, Climate Change Adaptation and Development Policies
• Final IGAD Protocol endorsed by IGAD Ambassadors and Ministers of Interior and Labour, Khartoum 26 Feb 2020 
• Resource Library - MPTF Joint Programme

Contacts:
IOM East and Horn of Africa: Mrs Lisa Lim Ah Ken, IOM Regional Migration Environment and Climate Change Thematic Specialist for East and Horn of Africa  

IOM East and Horn of Africa: Ms Noora Makela, IOM Regional M&E Officer, Nairobi, Kenya.