I just returned from my first trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where ICMA has been working in the border regions of Somali and Gambella. These areas are experiencing significant levels of conflict, as they neighbor the failing states of Somalia and Sudan, respectively.

At 7,546 feet (2,300 meters), the altitude can catch the newcomer off-guard. Fortunately, I had help, literally, to carry my bag to our fourth floor walk-up office.

Severe drought caused by changing climatic patterns is creating rapid and dramatic change for Ethiopia's many nomadic livestock herders, known as pastoralists, and bringing to an end a way of subsistence that is no longer viable given diminishing pastures and the government's promotion of a more sedentary way of life. Yet, Ethiopia remains the primary producer of meat, dairy products, and leather on the continent, so a shift to modern methods of production would allow for an improving quality of life.

USAID’s strategic approach to these changes in Ethiopia is called Transition Out of Pastoral Livelihoods, or TOPS. In turn, TOPS relates directly to the USAID global strategy addressing food security, known as Feed the Future. It means, in large part, a renewed focus on growing cities and the need for strengthening local government to facilitate the required infrastructure investments (e.g., markets, slaughterhouses, storage facilities, processing plants) and associated economic development efforts that ICMA members understand so well.

ICMA has been working with the planning authorities of the two regions to help them acquire the tools (computer systems) and data collection and analysis systems to undertake a strategic economic development planning process. In the secondary cities of Jijiga and Gambella, ICMA is promoting economic development at the "kabele" or community level as well. We have helped establish the first public-private partnership (PPP) franchise in the country for solid waste collection, and we’re advising on the renovation of underutilized structures for conversion to Internet cafes and attractive shops.

As our project winds down over the course of 2012, we leave behind a lasting technical legacy in the country and hope for new opportunities to assist Ethiopia's city managers to be "leaders at the core of better communities."