The following are the four strategic focus areas of the Department during the 2018-2022 planning period.

1. Coordination of development for ASALs
The State Department will co-ordinate the formulation of policies and implementation of strategies for the development of ASALS. This will be done through overseeing planning and development of programmes and projects for the ASALS; coordination of research for sustainable resource management;
strengthening knowledge management; collaboration with other development partners for accelerated ASALS development; and strengthening the National Drought Management Authority to coordinate and implement drought risk management. In addition, the State Department will develop requisite legal
frameworks for development of the ASALs.

2. Resilience Building
Social development indicators in ASALs are low compared to the rest of the country due to various factors. ASALs communities, therefore, have characteristically low capacity to withstand social, economic and
environmental shocks arising from droughts, conflicts and climate change. It is, therefore, the strategic focus of the SDDA to develop such programmes that will fi ll the social, economic and environmental gaps to increase the ability of ASALS communities to withstand such shocks.
These programmes include strengthening the ending drought emergencies (EDE) interventions at national and county levels; strengthening investments that support communities to respond to slow onset and predictable hazards. In addition, the Department will coordinate strategies to address poverty reduction, wealth creation and economic growth; and facilitate private investment in the ASALs.

3. Social and Cultural Integration
Social and cultural integration programmes will focus on promoting affi rmative action-based programmes for ASALS communities in education, training, health, employment, gender and social inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), elderly, marginalised and minorities. Further,
frameworks for management and resolution of cultural and resource-based confl icts; social integration; inter-county collaboration and cross-border initiatives in identifi ed ASALS counties will be developed.
The Department will also work in collaboration with other stakeholders on the control of human-wildlife and other land use related conflicts in the ASALs.

4. Leadership
The Department will take up its leadership role for coordinating players in the ASALS development agenda by putting measures in place to strengthen accountability and leadership systems, promote national values, enhance staff competency and develop risk management frameworks.