The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), together with the UN Joint SDG Fund, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, AGFUND, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and other UN partners, will convene a high-level regional workshop in Nairobi to address one of development finance's most persistent challenges: moving money from pledges to pipelines in food systems.
The IGAD region is one of the world's most ecologically diverse and most food-insecure. Hyper-arid drylands cover roughly 70% of the landmass, yet fertile zones coexist within the same borders. Climate shocks, conflict, land degradation, and market fragmentation do not respect those borders either, trapping communities in cycles of crisis that emergency responses alone cannot break.
Momentum is building to change the equation. In 2024, the Arab Coordination Group pledged up to USD 10 billion by 2030 for land restoration and resilience across the region. At UNFSS+4 in 2025, a USD 15 million coordinated investment in Cameroon demonstrated what systems-based financing can achieve when governments, UN partners, and investors align around shared priorities. In July 2025, IGAD Ministers called for innovative financing and strengthened regional coordination.
The workshop will convene government representatives, UN technical partners, financing institutions, and private investors for a structured dialogue to align capital with country-led priorities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda, identify barriers that prevent investment from flowing at scale, and launch the development of a limited number of coordinated regional investment pathways to be jointly matured with financiers over the next 12 months.
Since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, the primary constraint in food systems finance has shifted from ambition to investability. This workshop closes that gap through concrete, investable pathways grounded in concrete, investable pathways rooted in what countries have already committed to: the national development plans, climate pledges, and adaptation strategies.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was established in 1996 as the principal intergovernmental organization for the Eastern Africa sub-region. Comprising eight member states — Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda — IGAD works to promote peace, security, and sustainable development across a territory of 5.2 million km². Its 2026–2030 Strategy prioritizes climate resilience, food security, regional economic integration, and digital transformation, making it the anchor institution for coordinated regional responses to structural development challenges.
AGFUND (Arab Gulf Programme for Development) is an international humanitarian organization headquartered in Riyadh, working across the Arab world and developing countries to support human development, poverty reduction, and food security. AGFUND brings financing capacity, regional relationships, and long-standing expertise in agricultural and rural development to this partnership.
The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is the UN's primary body for promoting economic and social development on the continent. Through its research, policy analysis, and technical support, ECA helps African governments design macroeconomic frameworks, regional integration strategies, and financing architectures that attract and sustain investment in priority sectors — including food systems and climate resilience.
The UN Food Systems Coordination Hub was established following the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit to support countries in implementing their national food systems pathways. The Hub connects governments with UN technical expertise, facilitates alignment across agencies, and tracks progress toward food systems transformation commitments made at the Summit and beyond.
The UN Joint SDG Fund is a pooled financing mechanism that unites 33 UN agencies behind a shared mission: catalyzing integrated, systems-based responses to the Sustainable Development Goals. Operating across more than 100 countries, the Fund has mobilized over USD 8 billion in aligned financing against a USD 400 million investment, reaching 213 million people. It serves as a convening and financing platform for joint programmes that no single agency could deliver alone.
