The Horn of Africa (HoA) region has manysecurity and development challenges whose origins andconsequences go well beyond the borders of individualcountries. It is also a region with many human assets andresource endowments, and some of the most dynamic economiesin the world.Despite its numerous challenges, the Horn ofAfrica offers significant potential to address cross-borderissues that can help transform its countries and the region.This paper describes a World Bank Group (WBG) initiative toaddress some of the key drivers of instability in the HoAand promote development in the area.The initiative isintended to build on and complement the large country andregional programs the WBG and other partners are alreadysupporting in the HoA, bringing value by addressing a numberof issues which demand cross-border collaborative solutionsto reducing fragility and instability.The centralrationale to this initiative is that WBG cannot effectivelysupport the elimination of extreme poverty and boost sharedprosperity in the region without engaging more intensivelyand creatively in addressing very difficult developmentproblems, including those linked to insecurity andvulnerability. The WBG package totals $1.8 billion to becommitted over approximately 24 months, with about $600million investments from the International FinanceCorporation (IFC) and an estimated $200 million inguarantees from the Multilateral Guarantee Investment Agency(MIGA). The initiative builds on two previous programs aimedat similar issues in the Great Lakes Region (May 2013) andthe Sahel (November 2013), efforts that recognize the linkbetween security and development, and the importance ofgiving hope to vulnerable citizens, including women andchildren, that they can overcome poverty and deprivation.
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