International Center for Humanitarian Affairs (ICHA)’s policy team conducted advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy training in Garissa – Daadab area from 8th to 10th November 2022. The three-day training was designed to support camp leaders, refugees, volunteers and other stakeholders to enhance their skills in influencing and advocating for the protection of the rights of the refugees.
The team had several interactive sessions with practical ways of identifying partners in advocacy, coming up with key messages, developing strategies and lobbying with important decision-makers. The participants shared various experiences and had practical sessions on influencing and negotiations.
The training is under the Resilience Health and Rights (RHR) Project. The project seeks to build longer-term resilience in marginalized areas by providing access to services and primary health, including protection from sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and promoting the rights of those affected by displacement. The project seeks to provide sustainable solutions and support to vulnerable displaced and host communities in Turkana, Wajir, Marsabit, Mandera and Garissa.
The team will have another training in Kalobeyei from 15th to 18th November of 2022, involving refugees, leaders, and other key stakeholders.
The Dignified Identity in Cash Assistance (DIGID) project started in 2018. The first phase was piloted in Kenya as part of cash assistance during Covid-19 targeting vulnerable populations without identification. Lessons learned from the pilot project have been documented and several research studies have been conducted and published to examine opportunities for using technology to establish eligibility and provide assistance to vulnerable people without any form of identity.
The second phase of the DIGID project (or DIGID2) explores opportunities and risks of digital credentials in the context of migration in Kenya and Uganda. The pilot project in Kenya led by the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) is being implemented in Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei settlement aimed to provide digital health credentials to patients with non-communicable diseases from the host and migrant communities, including refugee and asylum seekers. The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCSve ) project, led by Uganda, focuses on simulating the use of digital credentials to establish eligibility and provide cash assistance to migrants.
DIGID2 also aims to explore opportunities and risks in using digital credentials across borders. It was proposed to have a cross-border simulation to understand the potential interactions of migrants that may move from one country where they were assisted by a National Society to another where they seek help from another National Society (NS).
DIGID2 also aims to explore opportunities and risks in using digital credentials across borders
Through the Innovation Unit and the IFRC, Kenya Red Cross Society conducted two cross-border simulations, one with partners and stakeholders and the other with the South Sudan Red Cross.
The cross-border simulation aimed to:
1. Understand the opportunities and risks of digital credentials issued by one NS and verified by another as a person of concern moves across borders.
2. Explore how digital credentials could complement services provided at Humanitarian Service Points.
3. Foster more and better collaboration between NSs on using digital credentials in cash and health context during migration.
The simulations targeted the African Inland Church, Kakuma Mission Hospital, Norwegian Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, Save the Children Organisation, Cash IM Department from ICHA, ECHO, and The South Sudan Red Cross team comprising the Cash and Disaster Management team. Two Cross-border scenarios were conducted where participants posed as “People of Concern” would get assisted by participants who posed to be humanitarian aid organizations. The cross-border scenarios highlighted the referral pathways and how the Digital wallets determined eligibility.
