‘Working with what we have’: key advocacy messages for inclusive communication and engagement in the Horn of Africa
Dayniille internally displaced people camp, Mogadishu region, Somalia, 2022. Photo: Ismail Taaxta/ICRC
The Horn of Africa is experiencing consecutive failed rains and the worst drought and food insecurity in the region in more than a decade. In a crisis of this magnitude, effective communication, community engagement and accountability (CCEA) are a matter of life and death, enabling affected people to make critical decisions and to communicate with service providers about their needs and concerns.
Simply put, communication is aid – and a right of affected people. Yet, challenged by insufficient dedicated funds and prioritisation, CCEA remains a weak link in the complex humanitarian response in the region.
Affected communities cannot afford to wait. In the face of insufficient funding and operational constraints, CDAC Network and its members, key stakeholders and regional and in-country CCEA coordination structures are calling for all humanitarian actors and other CCEA-related service providers to ‘work with what we have’ – including existing local structures, initiatives and partnerships – to drive inclusive and quality CCEA in affected areas.
This note presents critical areas of focus to prioritise within existing programmes in order to catalyse change in the Horn of Africa context.
Critical areas of focus
Information and dialogue save lives: prioritise provision of actionable information that upholds people’s rights, dignity and agency
Communicate information on critical topics that support people to manage their daily lives. This information should be accessible and shared using people’s preferred formats, channels and languages. Work with other sectors to get the messaging right.
Regularly communicate what services are available, when, and how people can access them, in the languages that people speak, without using jargon or technical terms.
Work with diverse and trusted actors to share information, including community members, local organisations, government entities and media actors.
Use data to inform decision-making and close the feedback loop
Promote referral pathways and information-sharing with existing complaints and feedback mechanisms, cross-check information between agency-specific mechanisms and compare feedback.
Develop and adopt data management and sharing protocols, including joint data collection, analysis, sharing, access and use processes, with an emphasis on data protection measures.
Foster collective CCEA approaches
Strengthen links between all CCEA collective approaches in-country by mapping and publicising CCEA approaches and efforts to enable organisations to plug into existing systems.
Document and advocate for the benefits of coordinated and cohesive collective efforts.
Bolster diverse stakeholder engagement and partnerships
Consider forging pathways between diverse actors with different capacities and areas of focus to enable broader participation in CCEA coordination and implementation.
Recognise and leverage the expertise that different actors bring.
