Dire Dawa, Ethiopia – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the Ministry of Peace and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), held a workshop on July 10 and 11, 2024 to assess the achievements of a durable solution project that is working to improve socio-economic resilience and peace in conflict-affected areas in Ethiopia.

Over fifty project stakeholders including Ministry of Peace representatives, Oromia and Somali region government officials, project implementers from various kebeles, woredas, and zones, IOM staff and beneficiaries, joined the meeting to review project achievements.

The meeting discussed improving the key elements of this project that is helping communities hit by displacement since June 2020, such as community-based planning, peacebuilding, social cohesion, and livelihood support.

Specialists in community-based planning, peacebuilding, livelihoods, and monitoring and evaluation reported on the project's concrete results and positive changes in the communities it reached. Along with the participants, they reviewed the activities implemented and the progress made in the first two years of the three-year project.

Additionally, they discussed plans to effectively implement remaining activities before the end of the project in May 2025 and areas to focus on in the proposed second phase of the project.

“This project has played a crucial role in enhancing the resilience and stability of communities affected by displacement,” said Yirgalem Belay, Executive of Conflict Resolution in the Ethiopian Ministry of Peace.

“The positive changes we have observed in these communities are a testament to the effectiveness of our collaborative efforts,” added Dawit Mulatu, National Livelihood Officer for IOM Ethiopia.

The meeting also received positive feedback from beneficiaries, who highlighted the project's impact on their communities, and stressed the necessity to expand to other needy communities. They shared their stories of how the project helped them to establish small enterprises and to fix damaged community facilities.

“We IDPs in Genede Lemi kebele are very grateful for the assistance as the project has built shelters, kitchens, and toilets for over three hundred households, and has also renovated classrooms enabling our children to go to school regularly,” said Roma Mohamed from Gumbi Bordode in West Hararghe.

Timaj Abrahim, another displaced person from Muhyidin kebele in Gursum also lauded IOM for improving five classrooms and providing student desks at Lugo Primary School, which addressed the issues of students sitting on the floor. IN addition, she cited the project's creation of peace ambassadors, art clubs, and provision of agricultural inputs to assist communities.

The KOICA-funded "Community-led Solution for Inclusive Socio-Economic Resilience towards Sustainable Peace in Conflict-Affected Areas in Ethiopia" project was launched in 2022 with a budget of 9.5 million USD to support 42,580 people in displacement-affected communities in Oromia and Somali regions of Ethiopia and is expected to run for another ten months. 

For more information contact:

Eric MAZANGO, Communications Officer, IOM Ethiopia emazango@iom.int