Djibouti September 26, Under the patronage of the Prime Minister His Excellency Mr. Abdoulkader Mohamed Kamil, the National Federation of Djiboutian Associations in partnership with UNDP and the Minister of Economy and Finance in charge of Industry have launched a project to map Djiboutian associations present on the national territory

As genuine actors of local development, associations play a crucial role. They can facilitate the participation of community residents in areas such as good governance of their localities, transparent management of public affairs as well as management and preservation of the environment.

The ability to recover from the covid19 pandemic crisis depends heavily on the capacity of community institutions and civil society organizations to act as facilitators and catalysts for crisis management. Civil society organizations are also important actors that contribute to economic growth and social cohesion in Djibouti.

Although the government recognizes the need to establish a legal framework favorable to associations and NGOs and to popularize the rights and duties of associative movements, the lack of a national directory and the lack of capacity and financial means of associations are a real obstacle to their development. The majority of associations in Djibouti do not have a structure and their members do not have the necessary management skills to make their association operational.

The mapping will make it possible to identify all the associations present on the territory and to reinforce their capacities to engage them in the development of their communities. When made public, this mapping should allow the associations to be known by all interested stakeholders but also to constitute a solid network to create synergies and share their experiences and knowledge.

The involvement of the associations will also facilitate the process of identifying activities in the communities and sectors affected by COVID-19 in order to contribute to job creation and strengthen the resilience of communities to future shocks. Their identification and capacity building is an opportunity to build real social capital through inclusive and participatory approaches.