As part of the implementation process of the conclusions of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, CCCPA delivered its first-of-its kind training on “Integrating Risk and Resilience Analysis in National Planning Processes”, from 29 November-2 December 2021.

The virtual training seeks to advance the conclusions of the Aswan Forum on the importance of adopting a resilient and preventative approach in the face of cascading risks on the African continent.

In his opening remarks, CCCPA’s Policy Advisor Counselor Mohamed Kandil highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic served as a magnifier of existing systemic risks and structural inequalities in Africa, indicating that “what started as a health crisis quickly turned into a full-scale socio-economic crisis, with political, peace and security implications.” He added that “the post-COVID-19 world requires a paradigm shift towards resilience and prevention, hence CCCPA’s contribution to operationalize these efforts by building African capacities in risk and resilience-informed planning and programming.”

The training targeted African officials from ministries of planning, with the aim of building their capacities in identifying risk and resilience factors; enhancing their understanding of the notions of risk, fragility, and resilience; as well as identifying entry points for planning and programming. The training’s overall objective aims to support government institutions to better mitigate, adapt, and recover from shocks, stresses, and crises, by adopting a preventative-resilience approach to enable national capacities to integrate risk and resilience analysis in national planning for better preparedness and capacity to deal with threats. The training included participants from Egypt, Niger, Somalia and South Sudan.  

During the 4-day training, participants practiced risk and resilience analysis through simulation-based exercises, by examining a hypothetical scenario of a complex farmer-herder conflict originating due to climate change manifestations, and exacerbated by structural vulnerability and state fragility. Participants were able to identify existing risk factors, shocks, and stressors, as well as the adaptive capacity of states and communities in terms of governance, economic, and social indicators of resilience.

The training comes as part of the project on “Enhancing Peace, Security, and Stability in Africa VII”, funded by the Government of Japan, through UNDP.