The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
Fighting pandemic and strengthening healthcare in east Africa
The European Union-Intergovernmental Authority on Development (EU-IGAD) COVID-19 Response programme has benefitted millions across seven countries in east Africa.
- This article was originally published 14 November 2022 in the run-up to the 2022 Paris Peace Forum.
The EU-IGAD COVID-19 Response programme focuses on strengthening surveillance and rapid response within health systems and mitigating the health and socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in critical cross-border areas across Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
Supporting vulnerable and at-risk communities with the multi-faceted challenges they face requires a strong, coordinated response. It requires partners working together across sectors.
The EU-IGAD programme is delivering medical supplies and equipment while working to enhance regional capacity to coordinate national responses as well as increasing access to health, water, sanitation and hygiene services.
It's also mitigating gender-based violence, improving community engagement, ensuring borders and supply chains are safe for trade, promoting digital health solutions, and supporting vulnerable groups, including frontline workers, migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons and cross-border communities.
About the programme
The EU-IGAD programme is managed by UNOPS, funded by the EU and coordinated by IGAD. It is implemented by the International Organization for Migration, TradeMark East Africa, UNICEF and UNOPS. The digital health solutions component is independently managed and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
EU-IGAD at the 2022 Paris Peace Forum
With the goal of mobilizing stakeholders for collective action, the Paris Peace Forum showcases governance projects and initiatives that propose specific solutions to global challenges. At this year's event, the multi-partner, multi-sectoral EU-IGAD COVID-19 Response programme – funded by the EU and managed by UNOPS – was featured. During the event, the importance of strong collaboration among partners was highlighted as key to the success of the programme.
