The Garissa Integrated Socio-Economic Development Plan (GISEDP) is a comprehensive multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder initiative to benefit refugees and members of the host communities in Garissa County. It aims to bridge the gap between humanitarian assistance and development in response to increasing needs, risks and vulnerabilities faced in new and protracted displacement situations.
Garissa County has been hosting refugees for over three decades. As part of the roll-out of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), the County Government of Garissa together with UNHCR and partners agreed to adopt an inclusive and sustainable development model for enhanced self-reliance and socio-economic inclusion of refugees and host communities that will bring positive impacts to the economy of Garissa County and Kenya as a whole.
Garissa Integrated Socio-Economic Development Plan (GISEDP), an area-based development blueprint, will
therefore build close collaboration and partnerships between the National Government, the County Government
of Garissa, UNHCR, donors, private and humanitarian partners to facilitate a strategic shift from humanitarian
assistance to development-oriented interventions in a protracted refugee situation. GISEDP will take a whole-of-society approach to sustainable solutions to the refugee situation in the refugee hosting sub-counties in
Garissa County (Dadaab, Fafi and by extension Lagdera, which does not host refugees, but the sub-county
has been affected by the protracted presence of refugees in the area), benefiting both refugees and the
communities that host them.
The implementation of GISEDP will follow a two-phased approach with an initial phase of 2023-2027 and
then a follow-up phase of 2028-2032, in line with the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) phase III
and IV, respectively. GISEDP interventions are structured within eight complementary and mutually reinforcing
components that are closely aligned to CIDP sectors. GISEDP is also aligned with other regional and national
priorities, including the Nairobi Declaration on Durable Solutions for Somali Refugees and Reintegration of
Returnees in Somalia and its National Action Plan, Kenya Vision 2030, as well as the Kenya Refugees Act, 2021
and the Shirika Plan currently under development.
The formulation of GISEDP and its finalization process in 2023 included a series of stakeholder consultations and workshops led by the County Government of Garissa with UNHCR and partners involving both local and national level stakeholders, including donors and development partners, private sector entities, NGO partners, UN agencies, refugee and host
community representatives. GISEDP Phase I adopts a similar structure as CIDP III and emphasizes the provision
of safe water, adequate healthcare, and quality education as universal human rights alongside enhancing access
to energy, business and skills opportunities and improved access to agricultural and pastoralist livelihoods.
Furthermore, it acknowledges the county government’s urban development initiative including the roll-out of
Dadaab Municipality.
For more details, you can access the GISEDP Phase I (2023-2027) comprehensive document below:
GISEDP (2023-2027)
GISEDP comprehensive document (overview)
