The Executive Secretary of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Workneh Gebeyehu, on Monday met Etleva Kadilli, Regional Director of UNICEF for Eastern and Southern Africa, to strengthen humanitarian coordination across the Horn of Africa.
The high-level talks in Djibouti focused on advancing humanitarian diplomacy to secure safe and sustained aid corridors into Sudan, where conflict has left millions of children in urgent need of food, health care, clean water and protection.
Sudan continues to face one of the world’s most severe child-focused humanitarian crises. Prolonged fighting has displaced millions, disrupted schools and health systems, and increased the risk of malnutrition and disease outbreaks.
Aid agencies have repeatedly raised concerns about access constraints that limit the delivery of life-saving assistance to hard-to-reach communities.
During the meeting, both leaders emphasized the need for coordinated regional engagement to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access, protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law.
They agreed that stronger diplomatic efforts are essential to break logistical and security barriers preventing assistance from reaching vulnerable populations.
Beyond Sudan, the discussions also explored expanding IGAD-UNICEF collaboration on climate resilience and outbreak preparedness. The Horn of Africa continues to grapple with recurrent droughts, floods and health emergencies that compound conflict-related shocks.
More than 20 million children across the region are estimated to be affected by overlapping crises, including displacement, food insecurity and disease outbreaks.
The two institutions committed to strengthening early warning systems, improving cross-border health response coordination and scaling up climate adaptation programmes aimed at protecting children and communities from future shocks.