| Overview : Background
UNDP works in eight countries1 in the Horn of Africa to address governance, economic, social, environment and climate related challenges. Support is provided to enhance sustainable development, improve resilience and reduce risks or vulnerability in keeping with global, regional and national commitments. Priority areas of intervention include cross-border and regional cooperation; governance, peace and security; inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth, climate resilience; women and youth empowerment. UNDP also contributes to the Horn of Africa Regional Initiative launched by the UN Secretary-General in 2018 that supports stronger coordination across the UN system, and with its partners on the ground, for joint delivery of complementary mandates, sustaining peace resolutions, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
This Sub regional human development report (HDR) for the Horn of Africa intends to provide intellectually independent, empirically grounded analysis of development issues, trends, progress and targeted policies required to help advance human development. HDRs are based on the premise that “people are the real wealth of a nation” using empirical data to impact policies that enlarge people's choices and create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives or simply to “advance the richness of human life, rather than the richness of the economy in which human beings live” (Amartya Sen).
Today, more people in the Horn of Africa are healthier, live longer, are more educated, have more access to goods and services and more power to select leaders, influence public decisions and share knowledge. Yet much more remains to be done in expanding choices and improving well-being for all people in all countries and communities, and for generations yet to come.
The planned Sub-Regional Human Development Report is the first of its kind. It builds on the success several Regional and National Human Development Reports and extends the analysis in UNDP’s recent Sub regional assessment on the Horn of Africa. The assessment highlighted the importance of adopting resilience as a core goal across the sub-region and working collaboratively across borders to improve coherence in targeting vulnerable people and communities. It also stressed the need to
1 Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda
2
resolve the tensions and dilemmas in addressing resilience to economic, social, environment and political shocks and stressors through research, partnerships and conflict resolution.
UNDP has made borderlands a major focus of programming, to reduce vulnerability in borderlands by improving collaboration between states and strengthening institutions to implement more collaborative approaches to human security. This calls for better resilience programmes using gendered and participatory approaches to target well-being, economic participation, security, justice, and local governance. This includes early warning and emergency services, disaster risk reduction, social protection, health, education and economic empowerment.
The purpose of this consultancy is to support the conceptualisation of the Horn of Africa Sub Regional Human Development report process including contributing to the development of a concept note on the nexus between peace and stability, employment and climate resilience as well as the Report’s outreach and engagement strategy. |
