The USAID Strategic Partnership (USP) program, in collaboration with the State Department for the ASALs and Regional Development (SDARD), convened a workshop to review the Partnership Coordination Framework (PCF) and the Resilience Programming Framework (RPF). PCF has been developed to bring together partners to develop the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). On the other hand, RPF seeks to strengthen coherence, avoid duplication of efforts by various partners and review progress in implementing Kenya’s resilience agenda.
Bringing together key stakeholders, including the State Department of ASAL and Regional Development (SDARD), the State Department for Devolution, the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC), Strathmore University and USAID, the team aligned PCF & RPF with the Government’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and other legal and policy frameworks. The team also incorporated essential strategies to guarantee the transformation of ASALs.
The ASALs cover over 80 percent of Kenya’s landmass, consist of approximately 39 percent of the Kenyan population, and are home to about 90 percent of wildlife and pastoral wealth, embodying over 75 percent of the county’s livestock. Despite the enormous potential for development in livestock, pastoral and desert safari tourism and natural resources, the regions have continued to be impoverished and underdeveloped. The impacts of climate change, such as prolonged drought periods, floods when it rains, and resultant effects like conflicts, have also led to the loss of lives and livelihoods.
“Despite the investments made by several state and non-state actors for a very long period to enhance development, the ASAL areas still suffer greatly from several disasters. That’s why we need these frameworks,” said Dr. Daniel Nyoro, the USP program’s Resilience Technical Specialist.
The two frameworks will comprehensively solve the challenges of weak partnership engagement, uncoordinated funding for unharmonized programs, accountability & transparency issues and misalignment of partner plans and priorities with the National and County governments. This will bring together all partners and partner resources in a well-coordinated manner for efficient and effective response to the development of ASALs.
The harmonized documents (PCF & RPF) will be shared with the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of East Africa Community, Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development and other key partners for adoption and immediate implementation.
USAID Strategic Partnership is a five-year program implemented by Strathmore University Business School (SBS) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program is implementing a three-pronged approach, namely Kenya Small Business Development Centers (Kenya SBDC), Agency and Voice for Private Sector (AVPS), and Transformational Resilience Programming (TRP). TRP spearheads resilience programming, driving coordination and mobilization of investments from both the public and private sectors. TRP emphasizes strategic partnerships and data-driven insights to impact the economy positively, fostering increased livelihood opportunities and higher incomes for communities in ASALs.
Article by Jane Mumo
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