Faced with Global Climate Threats, Development Partners Should Source Local Solutions

Across the Horn of Africa—home to some 90 million people spread across the continent’s northeastern tip—hunger threatens nearly 40 percent of the population. Displaced by the chaotic upheavals of climate change, which has wrought both unprecedented drought and cataclysmic flooding, the largely agrarian societies dotting the region also face the specter of increased violence. In fact, according to the International Crisis Group, as little as a half-degree increase in average temperatures can boost the risk of violence by as much as 20 percent.

To explore how local communities, with the support of international development partners, can remain resilient in the face of these threats, the USAID Resilience Learning Activity, through its Horn of Africa Resilience Network (HoRN), hosted a half-day learning event which included participation by Policy LINK’s South Sudan Program Lead, Jeffrey Campbell.

“Africa remains disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change despite producing only 2–3% of the world’s global emissions.” InterAction

Speaking on a panel looking at “localizing development to achieve climate resilience,” Campbell shared insights from Policy LINK”s work in South Sudan, where up to two-thirds of the population is food insecure, according to the United Nations. Coping with the scale of this challenge begins at the local level, “boosting community and household level resilience so that families are better equipped to weather the shocks that will inevitably come,” Campbell said. 

“USAID South Sudan’s approach puts communities at the center of the development process to address their own challenges and develop resilience to future shocks,” he added. The approach takes “effective multi-stakeholder engagement” that builds the foundation for community-led resilience programming.

Anchoring Policy LINK’s work with local communities is a five-step participatory planning process that helps communities prioritize their needs and center them in the programming of development partners like USAID. The process begins with stakeholder engagement, which leads to gathering evidence, validating it through sensemaking workshops, and acting on it through work planning at the local level and, later, with development partners.

Annette Scarpitta, who works with agricultural producers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and attended the October 26 panel discussion, saw parallels between Policy LINK’s approach and that of her team, which partners with Congolese nongovernmental organizations in the remote village of Rwenena. “Policy LINK's technical approach … respects existing capacities of historically disenfranchised people who need inclusion,” said Scarpitta.

Sharing Policy LINK’s participatory approach with other development partners is a key aim of the USAID activity, which has developed an online resource portal cataloging its experiences and best practices. The portal includes resource guides, technical reports, and other material offered as a public good.

“Again and again, we have learned the hard-won lesson of all good development—that earning the trust of the people we aim to serve is as hard as it is fulfilling.”

“Development partners working in the Horn of Africa must be deliberate and intentional in putting communities at the center of their programming, seeing these communities as more than just mere beneficiaries,” said Campbell. “Again and again, we have learned the hard-won lesson of all good development—that earning the trust of the people we aim to serve is as hard as it is fulfilling.”

For more information about Policy LINK or to read stories of our work in South Sudan, please visit USAID South Sudan — USAID Policy LINK Program (policylinkglobal.org).