VSF Germany and VSF-Suisse launched in 2019 the Joint Strategy for the Greater Horn of Africa. Both organizations have been working in the region since the late 1990s, with a combined presence in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and seeking entry into Uganda, Eritrea and Djibouti.
In 2018 of all VSF International Network members expressed interest in developing closer collaborations in the field, As a result, VSF-Suisse and VSF Germany agreed on a bilateral partnership and elaborated a joint strategy for the Greater Horn of Africa. The strategy includes the eventual inclusion of the other VSFs active in the region to forge a more united front guided by the overall VSF mandate.
The five-year strategy (2019-2023) identifies four joint development objectives, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- Contributing to the control and eradication of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and other transboundary animal diseases (TADs);
- Leading One Health initiatives with a special focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), zoonotic neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), natural resource management (NRM) and poverty-related diseases (PRD);
- Strengthening the support to smallholder livestock value chains in the rain-fed high agricultural potential areas to widen the VSFs portfolio; and
- Continuing the emergency livestock response and humanitarian assistance on a need basis.
The regional strategy also seeks to optimise the efficiency of the collaboration between the two organizations and stipulates additional partnership objectives that include the improvement of internal communication, the overall quality and performance of the actions and enhancement of visibility and recognition.
Download the Joint Strategy for the Greater Horn of Africa: