Ethiopia


  • Population - 90,873,739
  • Infant Mortality Rate - 77.12 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Life Expectancy – 56.19 years
  • Population below poverty line - 38.7%
  • Year ChildFund entered Ethiopia – 1972

Quick Facts

  • Ethiopia officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country within the Horn of Africa and is one of the oldest, independent countries in Africa, dating back over 2,000 years.
  • In sheer geographic size, Ethiopia is more than 16 times the size of Ireland.
  • Its capital city is Addis Ababa which means “New Flower”.
  • Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which comprises twelve months of thirty days each and a thirteenth month of five days (or six days in a leap year). The calendar is seven years and eight months behind the Western calendar with Christmas being celebrated on January 7 and New Year on September 11.
  • Ethiopia’s climate varies dramatically, temperatures rise to 50 C in desert areas but in the highlands, night time temperatures can be as low as 0 C.
  • Most people live in houses or small huts made of wood, mud and grasses.
  • Porridge and kita, flat unleavened bread prepared from maize flour, is served daily. Kita is served with milk and vegetable sauce. Some eat injera, a pancake like bread, and watt, a sauce made of beans or vegetables.

Priority Issues

  • Approximately 47% of children under the age of five are underweight and undernourished.
  • Food insecurity has remained chronic in various parts of the country because of both limited availability and access to food.
  • Additionally, the livelihood of 85% of the population is entirely dependent on rain-fed subsistent agriculture.
  • When the rains fail, like this year, Ethiopia experiences severe drought that can lead to famine.
  • Ethiopia has the world’s lowest GND per capita at just US$100.
  • The spread of HIV and AIDS is also having a major impact on life expectancy.

 

ChildFund Intervention

ChildFund began its intervention in Ethiopia in 1972. ChildFund Ethiopia endeavours to enhance the wellbeing of vulnerable, excluded and deprived children and their families in target communities, by facilitating access to social and economic development and protecting their rights. At present, ChildFund is implementing child focused development projects in Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS), and Addis Ababa City Administration, supporting about 1 million needy children, their families and other community members through development interventions focusing on education, health, food security and micro enterprise development programmes in partnership with Ethiopian Government respective Regional Bureaus.

One such example is the Golan Child and Family Helper Project in Addis Ababa. Basic health and education services were at low status before the community organisation, supported by ChildFund sponsorship funding, started. Malaria, diarrhoea, measles and waterborne diseases were the major cause of mortality. Access to education was very limited for children.

To improve the health status of children and their families, the community organisation, along with the local government health office, has provided immunisation for children age two and younger and for women of childbearing age. A health post has been constructed, which provides medical services to enrolled children and their siblings. The health post also provides classes on family planning, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and the control and prevention of malaria. The community organisation also provides nutritional education along with supplementary feeding for malnourished children. Nearby health institutions are provided with essential drugs and medical facilities.

To improve access to basic education and Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) for children, the community organisation has established four ECCD centres, which provide services to children age five and younger. Three preschools and two primary schools have been built and the community organisation provides school fees, uniforms, learning materials and tutorial programmes for students and non-formal education for adults. Nearby primary and secondary schools are supported with materials and supplies.

An irrigation plan has been established from the Awash River to improve livelihood services. These farmers have shown a dramatic increase in vegetable and fruit production. The community organisation also established saving and credit cooperatives and injected initial capital into the community. Cooperative members benefit from the credit facilities.

ChildFund Ireland and ChildFund Ethiopia have been development partners in grant- funded projects since 2004 when work began on a water project in Amhara region, just north of the capital Addis Ababa.  Since then some large and small have been successfully completed including a food security project in Wonago, a rural area about 400 kms south of Addis Ababa, and a recently completed three year programme providing a safety net for orphans and other vulnerable children affected by HIV & AIDS in the city of Addis Ababa.

The partnership today centres on a programme in the rural districts of Shashemene and Siraro in Oromio region.   The programme Siraro focuses on issues related to child protection and the prevention of harmful traditional practices and gender based violence (GBV), building the capacity of relevant government actors/partners, children, women and community leaders to address the causes and prevent child abuse and GBV.


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