Triple Nexus

Strengthening Linkages Across the Triple Nexus

Triple Nexus

Today’s reality is that communities do not move neatly on a continuum from crisis to resilience. Shifts back and forth caused by political instability, climate disasters and conflicts can take a stable environment like Ukraine into crisis overnight.

Global Communities believes meaningful solutions lie at the intersections that link humanitarian, development and peace-building programs – also known as the triple nexus. Our unique expertise allows us to leverage learnings for integrated programs and respond to rapidly changing circumstances.

In Ethiopia, we are partnering with pastoralists to build resilience and regenerate grasslands to improve food and water security, pivoting along the way to overcome obstacles both environmental and political. A thriving, resilient future is possible only when we connect ideas and insights that have too long been divided.

Read our latest Triple Nexus story below.

Adapting Aid to Address the Climate Crisis in Ethiopia

The Horn of Africa is experiencing one of the longest droughts on record. Global Communities is working at the intersection of sustainable development, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding to build long-term resilience in the face of constant change.

By: Jessica Ayala

Upon arriving in Jinka, a bustling market town in the South Omo zone of Ethiopia, one might be surprised to see long stretches of green grassland surrounding the airport and city. But drive just two hours south toward the border of Kenya and the lush pasture gives way to a harsh, cracked and arid landscape that only becomes more hostile every day.

The Horn of Africa is in the midst of one of the longest droughts on record, creating a compounding food crisis for individuals whose livelihoods depend on crops and rangelands to feed their families and livestock. Today, as many as 25 million people are at risk of hunger and disease. Ethiopia is facing a greater frequency and intensity of disasters due to long-term environmental degradation and shifting global weather patterns, which are continually aggravated by the effects of climate change.

“It pains me to be the bearer of bad news. In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, we are on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe."

– Guleid Artan, Director of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
World Meteorological Organization's Climate Center for East Africa

Coming off five consecutive failed rainy seasons, Ethiopia and its neighboring countries are bracing for yet another period without the globe’s most precious resource: water.

For pastoralists in South Oromia, who migrate their animal herds in search of fresh grass and water, severely dry weather patterns have upended normal pasture growth patterns and led to substantially increased costs of scouting for grasslands and supplemental feed when no grazeable land can be found. Hundreds of thousands of livestock have died from lack of food and water, leaving communities food insecure, malnourished and vulnerable.

"The drought impact is expanding, increasing the number of people to be assisted and livestock to be supported. At present and since late 2021, 4 million livestock have perished, and more than 30 million livestock are emaciated and at risk."

– Statistic credit: UNOCHA

At a time when disasters and disruptions are becoming more common and catastrophic, Global Communities, together with our local partners, equips communities with the training, tools and resources they need to recover from crises and build long-term resilience in the face of constant change.

From prevention and adaptation to positive transformation, we focus on solutions that center local voices and expand opportunities for growth, leadership and advancement.