EU awards Pact €3 million to expand peacebuilding in East Africa

Pact has secured the support of a European Union grant for €3,137,520 to expand peacebuilding activities in Ethiopia and Kenya. The project, SEEK II, will address drivers of conflict, insecurity and instability while strengthening the systems and institutions that can peacefully manage and resolve conflict in the border communities of southwest Ethiopia and northwest Kenya. 

Violent conflicts in the border areas between Kenya and Ethiopia are shaped by the realities that define subsistence rural livelihoods. Violent conflict erodes the positive social capital that holds communities together and pushes people to migrate to locations they believe can allow them to attain secure livelihoods and alternative options for a stable, prosperous life.  

These vulnerable communities have been impacted by the effects of COVID-19 including the closure of borders which has further exacerbated their already fragile situation. Pact has worked hard to flex and adapt our activities to address these concerns and support communities to raise awareness and adopt transmission reduction strategies.  

For the past three years, our Selam Ekisil (SEEK) project, funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa, has worked to mitigate potential conflict and foster peaceful coexistence along the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Pact and our local partners are addressing root causes of violence and helping communities to the lead the way in building lasting conflict management systems and institutions. 

The project is part of the EU’s program for Collaboration in the Cross Border areas of the Horn of Africa, providing more than €63.5m to prevent and mitigate the impact of local conflict and to promote economic development and greater resilience in four different cross-border regions. 

This award builds on the successful completion of the original SEEK project. The extension is a testament to the outstanding work of Pact and our local partners, which has been recognized by the European Union and the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia alike.   

This announcement was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Pact and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.