In the week of 21 March, a delegation of VNG International visited Puntland State, Somalia, to officially introduce the DANWADAAG (Somali for “a shared or common interest”) and Sustainable Development through Improved Local Governance (SDLG) programmes. During the visit, the VNG International team together with its main stakeholders discussed the programmes’ objectives and next steps.

DANWADAAG and SDLG have one common objective: to improve the social contract between public (local) authorities and communities. However, each programme looks at a different angle to increase legitimacy and trust in the local government. DANWADAAG considers Disaster Risk Management to be the main policy area, whereas the SDLG programme uses Inclusive Local Economic Development (ILED) as a means to strengthen the relationship between local authorities and youth in Puntland. The choice of these policy fields is related to the fragility risks that characterize the region. Both disasters (e.g. locusts, floods, drought, COVID19) and the lack of economic opportunities are risks that undermine stability in Puntland State and broader Somalia.

The discussions with, amongst other, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC), the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the Vice President’s Office, Garowe District, the Association of Local Government Authorities of Puntland (ALGAPL), the Puntland Development and Research Centre (PDRC), the Media Association of Puntland (MAP) and the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Agency (HADMA) were very fruitful and insightful. It was also the first time that the VNG International team paid a visit to the district of Qardho. Following a warm welcome by the Deputy Mayor, the team was guided to the local market where the consequences of the previous floods were still clearly visible. This visit underlined the importance of the new programmes that pay specific attention to the interconnectedness of disasters and (their effect on) the economy.

The coming months will be devoted to producing the deliverables as part of the inception phase based on the inputs received from the different stakeholders.