CEWARN hosts a grant agreement signing ceremony with six national conflict early warning and response units
IGAD’s Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) hosted a grant agreement signing ceremony for its national conflict early warning response units (CEWERUs) in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda on 25th July in Adama, Ethiopia.
Grant agreements for twelve projects with a combined worth of Euro 371,522 targeting six IGAD Member States were signed in the presence of the CEWARN Director Camlus Omogo, representative of the Austrian Development Agency Mr John Auma and Head of Ethiopia’s National Conflict Early Warning and Response Unit (CEWERU) Mr Sebsibe Bade. Heads of National CEWERUs of IGAD member states, Financial Administration Units (FAUs) that were constituted to manage grants as well as implementing agencies were also in attendance of the event.
The grant agreements were signed within the context of the CEWARN Rapid Response Fund (RRF) that was set up to support local level peace building and conflict mitigating projects in the IGAD region.
Projects eligible to receive CEWARN RRF grants are typically short-term emergency peace building interventions with a maximum value of Euro 50,000. National units who oversee project implementation appraise RRF projects initiated by local peace structures. The RRF avails 3 million Euros for a period of two years.
Given the complexity of human security challenges in the IGAD region and the limited response capacity of national and provincial structures, these projects will go a long way supporting critical peace building and conflict mitigation interventions.
A further twenty-three (23) RRF projects are being considered for approval and implementation.
The European Union (EU) is the main contributor of RRF funds. The European Union and the Austrian Development Agency supported the organization of the signing ceremony through the IGAD Promoting Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa Region (IPPSHAR) Programme.
