Social and Economic Development for Pastoral Groups

  

The Pastoral Community Development Project (PCDP) supports socio-economic development in Ethiopia’s pastoral areas. The project, which became operational in September 2003, employs the community-driven development (CDD) model. The project’s goal is to provide capacity-building and to establish models of public service delivery and disaster management.

PCDP has three major components: (a) sustainable livelihood enhancement, (b) pastoral risk management, and (c) project implementation support and policy reform. The project is being implemented in 30 pastoral weredas (14 in Somali, 9 in Afar, 5 in Oromiya, and 2 in SNNP regions). For the first five-year phase a total of US $60.0 million has been allocated ($30 mil from IDA, $20 mil from IFAD, and $10 mil from GOE). The current phase of the project will close in December 2008.

 

PCDP has seen progress towards its development objectives. The capacity building efforts at all levels and investments on community micro-projects are contributing to improving livelihood improvement initiatives. Beneficiary communities and regional and wereda officials support the development approaches of PCDP and its contributions to strengthening the decentralization and empowerment processes.

 

 

Achievements of PCDP include:

• Implementation of the CDD approach and support to communities in deciding and implementing livelihood improvement initiatives; thus, the communities have identified and implemented 1,158 micro-projects. Although 67 percent of these micro-projects are linked to sustainable livelihood interventions, the project is financing 378 water supply, 169 education, 137 human health, and 112 veterinary infrastructures.
• Extensive capacity building activities were undertaken at all levels to ensure community empowerment and the government’s decentralization efforts. Recognition of the project’s community-centered development principles by political and pastoral leaders as well as its full integration with wereda development efforts.
• Initiation of a comprehensive pastoral early warning system to mitigate the effects of recurrent droughts.
• Successful management of the financial and procurement aspects of the project at all levels.

 

 

Community assets financed by PCDP by number of beneficiaries, March 06

 

 

* Includes micro-projects financed under both under the community investment fund and pastoral risk management components.