In June the Nairobi Forum hosted a consultation on the future of humanitarian action in the Horn of Africa and East Africa with the Feinstein International Centre at Tufts University and InterAction. The Forum also held a book launch for The Golden Fleece:…
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‘Gatekeepers’ are siphoning off food aid intended for internally displaced people living in squalid camps in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Refugees International said in a report on Thursday, calling on aid agencies to stop operating via remote control from…
The election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as President of Somalia on 10 September was a major event in the region, bringing to an end a deeply flawed, eight-year political transition. The election of an active member of civil society…
Since it declared independence in 1991, Somaliland has worked to develop a system of multi-party democracy. The result is a relatively complex but home-grown set of political arrangements, providing concessions to and incorporating different interest groups. This was the…
On 18 April, the Nairobi Forum, in partnership with Kwani Trust, hosted an evening with renowned Somali author Nuruddin Farah. Nuruddin is winner of the Neustadt International Prize for literature and the Lettre Ulysses Award, and has been nominated for…
On 18-19 February 2013, RVI and the Somalia NGO Consortium co-hosted a two-day 'Introduction to Somalia' course at the Lukenya Getaway in Kenya. RVI managed the first day's event, providing a brief introduction to the history, politics, and culture of…
Speakers at a Nairobi forum sponsored by the Rift Valley Institute expressed concern for the future of South Sudan following a ceasefire agreement brokered in Addis Ababa late last week. Participants also raised issues concerning the presence of Ugandan…
On Friday 10 January leading South Sudanese civil society institutions came together to discuss the current situation [in South Sudan]… According to David Deng, Director of Research at the South Sudan Law Society, human rights violations in the past and…
A report from IRIN, published in the Sunday Nation, on a meeting convened by the RVI Nairobi Forum to discuss plans for a Lamu Port and South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor. The LAPSSET project includes a port in Lamu, a 1,500km…
Recent Publications

Aid and Conflict Sensitivity in Contemporary Ethiopia
November 17, 2025
This study assesses conflict sensitivity practices among humanitarian, development and peacebuilding (HDP) actors in Ethiopia. It seeks to raise awareness and foster a deeper understanding of the evolving aid landscape in the country while analysing the challenges that affect conflict-sensitive

Enhancing the Role of Borderland Communities in Ethiopia’s Foreign Policy
October 15, 2025
Ethiopia’s borderland communities (BLCs) have historically influenced the country’s relations with its neighbours. These peripheral regions often serve as hubs for cross-border trade, repositories of natural resources and, at times, flashpoints of conflict. Surrounded by six neighbouring countries – Djibouti,

Women in the Social Sciences and Humanities in Ethiopia: The case of Addis Ababa University
October 10, 2025
This preliminary assessment is part of the launch exercise of the Ethiopian Women Researchers’ Network (EWNET). Focusing on Addis Ababa University as a pioneering higher institution in the country, the study looks into the status of women within these disciplines