NAIROBI, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, and partners on Thursday launched a project to protect civilians from climatic shocks, conflict and displacement.

Strengthening early warning and disaster preparedness is part of the initiative that is supported by the World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Danish Refugee Council.

The project, which was launched in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and is meant to be implemented for two years, seeks to foster collaboration among key stakeholders and generate evidence to demonstrate the value of proactive approaches in tackling climate-related risks.

"These climate shocks, layered with conflict and other risks, have revealed the pressing need for proactive and coordinated actions," said Rukia Yacoub, WFP's deputy regional director for Eastern Africa, during the launch. She called for a robust partnership between governments, and local and international organizations to achieve positive results.

Ahmed Amdihun, senior regional program manager for Disaster Risk Management at IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Center, said the project's launch marked a milestone in regional efforts to confront the climate crisis.

By fostering innovation, leveraging resources, and prioritizing collaboration, the partners can help ensure anticipatory action becomes the norm in the region, said Amdihun, who believed the project was launched at a time when the IGAD region faces an alarming convergence of climate extremes and conflict that is devastating communities with unprecedented frequency and severity.

The Horn of Africa region in recent years has experienced severe flooding in South Sudan that displaced millions while the 2020-2022 drought left 23.4 million people acutely food insecure, displaced 2.7 million, and severely impacted 5.1 million children.

There have also been extensive floods in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi that displaced over 2 million people, while waterborne diseases surged.

By the end of 2024, over 50 million people in the Eastern Africa region were reported to be food insecure, according to IGAD. Enditem

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