Attachments
Agenda
Opening Remarks & Introduction Discussion
Mahbub Rahman, Co-Chair of the CEA TF, welcomed everyone to the meeting and expressed gratitude for their attendance. He shared the agenda and encouraged active participation and contributions to the discussion. Participants introduced themselves in the chat box.
Agenda
General Updates (Co-chair, CEA TF) and Updates from Partners Discussion
• Introduction of acting CEA TF Co-chair from Nexus As we know, Nexus is a consortium of local organizations that has been Co-chairing CEA TF since 2022. It has deployed a new CEA TF Co-chair, Shahida Suleiman, for the interim period. The recruitment process for the permanent co-chair is ongoing and aims to be completed by January 2025. Shahida introduced herself and expressed her gratitude to everyone for their support.
• Update from HCT Retreat (Flagship initiative and IAHE evaluation) HCT retreat which was held at the end of October. It focused on the IAHE evaluation findings and flagship initiative’s lessons to explore the feasibility of this initiative in Somalia. The aim of conducting IAHE evaluation was to understand the effectiveness of the humanitarian response in Somalia particularly focused on the L3 response for the drought between the years 2020-2023. In terms of AAP, it has been found that there were a lot of gaps in terms of implementing accountability measures. The community consultation for program design and implementation was poor, there were so many feedback mechanisms but not coordinated and, in many cases, not effective. The referral between agencies was a big problem, etc. A detailed report on the evaluation will be published soon.
The Office of the United Nations Emergency Coordinator has initiated a new approach called “Flagship initiative” to enhance community engagement through bottom-up approach. The flagship initiative has been piloted in four countries and aims to address the shortcomings in achieving the intended results and placing the community at the center of responses. The initiative is prompting the use of participatory tools like PRA to involve communities more actively in decision-making processes. The lessons learned from these pilots are now being considered for integration into the Somalia response. During HCT retreat discussions, it was agreed to pilot this mechanism in Somalia, focusing initially in 3-4 districts, with the intention to expand it to other locations. Specific pilot districts will be identified and communicated once finalized.
Additionally, the coordination structure, which links district level, state/sub-national level and national level, was discussed. While national clusters are active, state-level coordination often lacks dedicated focal points. The Area-Based Coordination (ABC) structure has been effective on the ground at district level, supported by an Operational Cell (co-led by IOM and DRC). The National Cluster is also functional, but the most state-level coordination is lacking its capacity due to lack of dedicated staff at state level.
This initiative marks a significant step towards a more community-focused response in Somalia, requiring strong organization and active engagement with various stakeholders to implement these changes effectively.