Eastern Africa Expanded Constituency Workshop 2026

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Secretariat, in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Development in Ethiopia, will convene an Expanded Constituency Workshop (ECW) for Eastern African countries from March 2–5, 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Participating countries include Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.  

The workshop aims to engage and build capacity of key stakeholders and enhance knowledge of the GEF strategies, programs, and policies. It also provides a platform to raise visibility of the GEF and for countries to share experiences and lessons learned from projects. The event brings together GEF Operational and Political Focal Points; Convention Focal Points for the UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD, Stockholm Convention, and Minamata Convention; selected representatives from civil society organizations; youth networks; Indigenous Peoples and local communities; GEF Agencies; the private sector; among other key stakeholders.  

Specific Objectives

• Provide participants with up-to-date baseline information on activities financed by the GEF family of funds, including the GEF Trust Fund, Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Small Grants Program (SGP)
• Disseminate information on the GEF’s integrated programming approach to maximize impactful, scalable, and sustainable outcomes across focal areas (biodiversity, climate change, chemicals and waste, land degradation, and international waters)
• Facilitate the exchange of lessons learned and good practices on cross-cutting themes, including gender equality, stakeholder engagement, private sector participation, and results monitoring
• Offer opportunities for bilateral discussions between GEF Secretariat staff, Agencies, and participating countries to review national priorities and adaptively manage GEF portfolios
• Deliver targeted capacity-building sessions for GEF Operational and Political Focal Points to strengthen coordination, portfolio management, and strategic engagement