IGAD Member States Urged to Secure Bloc’s Future Amid Mounting Challenges

Addis Ababa, September 16, 2026 (ENA) — IGAD Executive Secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, has urged member states to step up and strengthen ownership of the regional bloc, emphasizing that the organization’s future depends on sustained political and financial commitment.

Speaking at the opening session of the 74th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers, the Executive Secretary began with gratitude to IGAD member states for the political and diplomatic backing that keeps the organization operational, noting that the financial contributions provided by states are essential for a Secretariat of IGAD’s size to carry out its mandate.

Workneh said the meeting comes as IGAD returns to the birthplace of its founding conviction —namely that the challenges of the region could only be addressed through collective action.

He described today's session as extraordinary, pointing to Sudan’s return as a sign of the organization’s renewed completeness.

The Executive Secretary welcomed Sudan, describing its resumption of full membership in February as a restoration of the IGAD family. IGAD reopened its mission in Khartoum in July, portraying it as a standing link between IGAD and Sudan’s government and people.

According to the Executive Secretary, IGAD is meeting at a demanding hour not only due to internal conditions within member states but also because conflicts beyond the region are now affecting ports, fuel supplies, grain markets, and humanitarian budgets.

He said nearly 49 million people are acutely food insecure, while more than 19 million are displaced within their own countries.

Sudan, Workneh added, remains the epicenter of one of the world’s gravest emergencies, and referenced shifting control at the Red Sea as underscoring how rapidly regional developments can affect livelihoods.

Despite the challenges, he reported that in the first half of the year 77 percent of IGAD’s priority areas were on track.

The Executive Secretary highlighted performance achievements, including decision-support products, high availability of a regional groundwater information system, improvements in a universal health coverage index, and anticipatory action frameworks operating in 4 of IGAD’s 7 Member States.

He congratulated Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Uganda for their national elections held under IGAD observation, and expressed confidence in South Sudan’s preparations for elections scheduled for December.

The Executive Secretary also pointed to IGAD’s 40th year and the entry into force of the new IGAD Treaty, noting that five of the 7 member states have ratified it.

According to him, the systems of cooperation are working, but emphasized that what is required is fuel, meaning stronger commitment and predictable resources.

Workneh asked the Council for three actions: Stabilize essential operations now, settle historical arrears in an orderly way, and build a financing framework designed to prevent recurring funding crises.

Moreover, he stressed that IGAD also needs to prepare for the impending El Niño season before floodwaters rise, calling for a legacy initiative to position the region as an author rather than a subject in the age of artificial intelligence.

The peoples of the region have shown resilience, but what they require from IGAD is resolve, the Executive Secretary underscored, urging ministers to ensure that the extraordinary session produces concrete decisions.