Ethiopia to host IGAD’s annual conference on Kampala Declaration

Addis Ababa, October 28, 2023 (FBC) – The Intergovernmental Authority of Development (IGAD) annual regional conference on the Kampala declaration on Jobs, Livelihood and Self-Reliance for Refugees Returnees and Host Communities will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 30-31 October, 2023.

The two-day conference will review Member States’ progress in the implementation of plans of action as well as endorse the IGAD 2023 Global Refugee Forum regional pledges on economic inclusion and social protection, an official press release from the Health & Social Development Division of IGAD confirmed.

The press release recalled that IGAD Members States signed the Kampala Declaration on Jobs, Livelihoods, and Self-Reliance committing themselves to advance livelihood opportunities and economic inclusion of refugees, returnees and host communities on 28th March 2019. This has subsequently expanded economic and work opportunities for refugees and their host communites in the region.

It is learned that the conference will bring together high-level policy makers from IGAD Member States, the private sector, refugee groups, development partners, NGOs and donors working on the self-reliance agenda for Refugees in the region.

It is also indicated that Mr. Nigusu Tilahun, the State Minister for Employment, Jobs, and Markets at the Ministry of Labor and Skills of Ethiopia will officially open the conference.