Foreword
The drought that hit the Horn of Africa region in 2010-2011 wreaked havoc and devastated the lives and livelihoods of more than 13 million people in the IGAD region. However, this disaster also became a significant turning point; it highlighted the ineffectiveness of past drought response practices; and brought to the fore the urgent need to address the catastrophic phenomenon of recurrent droughts in a more effective and sustainable manner. It provoked soul searching and self-examination and inspired a search for more effective approaches; and called for an urgent paradigm shift in the management of drought events and their impacts.
In September 2011, a Summit of the Heads of State and Government of countries in the Horn of Africa region was quickly convened in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the crisis. This was the first time that the affected countries in the region made a collective decision to end drought emergencies; and, in unison, declared their commitment to work concertedly as a region. The Summit resolved to embark on the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI), which employed a new approach aimed at building the resilience of vulnerable drought-prone communities through investing in sustainability.
