United Nations in Ethiopia

The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. These are the goals the UN is working on in Ethiopia:

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07 June 2023

Implementing scalable Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction models in Ethiopia

The need to support the management, protection, and restoration of ecosystems is pivotal for developing and implementing Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) measures. Given the growing interest in Eco-DRR, the question arises on how do we upscale Eco-DRR measures to achieve greater impact nationally and globally? Since 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has developed and implemented scalable Eco-DRR models in collaboration with Partners for Resilience (PfR), working alongside various governments and communities to strengthen their capacity and shape Eco-DRR policy interventions. The joint project strived to scale-up Eco-DRR models and promote its large-scale implementation in 5 key countries: Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Indonesia, and Uganda. Ethiopia is known to be particularly vulnerable to droughts, floods, and food insecurity. To help address this, our project aimed at enhancing the resilience of communities to disasters and climate risks through the piloting and scaling up of Eco-DRR activities. Our project in Ethiopia focused specifically on ecosystem restoration and protection in the Fafan and Liben Zones of the Somali Region. An estimated 44,000 vulnerable people in approximately 80 communities were reached by the end of the project. Our project further highlighted the scaling up of Integrated Risk Management and Inclusive Risk Governance by supporting participatory ecosystem and community disaster risk assessments and action planning. In addition to the implementation of Eco-DRR measures, scaling up of Eco-DRR action, and promotion of citizen-based monitoring of disaster and climate resilient policies and practices. A model for upscaling community resilience was developed through three core components of Eco-DRR: Ecosystem Restoration/Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Climate Smart Livelihoods. Each Eco-DRR model comes in different shapes and sizes depending on the regional, national, and local context. In Ethiopia, there was a greater emphasis on Climate Smart Livelihoods and Ecosystem Restoration/Protection by demonstrating Eco-DRR rangeland restoration, water management, and embedding Eco-DRR measures within the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). The project further focuses on addressing multiple risks through innovative water and soil management, rangelands restoration and protection, community participation, stakeholder capacity building, and embedding Eco-DRR in institutional mechanisms such as the PSNP. Through our project, 18 Community-based Organisations were trained on Eco-DRR, and 2,520 community members were sensitized on ecosystem and rangeland restoration and management for addressing overgrazing and deforestation, among other capacity building activities. Furthermore, this resulted in 15,847 beneficiaries reached through our project; out of which 45% were women. Our work in Ethiopia lays the foundation for demonstrating the need for large-scale implementation of Eco-DRR, especially for advancing the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Sustainable Development Agenda. Learn more

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07 June 2023

Transforming Livelihoods through Revolving Fund for Women’s Cooperatives

She recalls how the training she received in Basic Business and Life Skills and the 3,000 Birr (86 USD) loan she received three years ago transformed her life and that of her family. “Sixteen years ago, I dropped out of school from grade eight and migrated from a rural area in Gojam to Addis Ababa seeking for a better life. I worked as a housekeeper for eight years earning a meagre income,” she said. “I didn’t see improvement and any better prospect in this role. Thus, I decided to pursue a different path in my life, and I got married. Although my husband, a breadwinner, was very supportive, his little income was not enough to meet our ends meet.” When the Gender Transformative Climate Smart Agriculture and Agri-Business (CSAAB) program was launched by UN Women and SOS Sahel Ethiopia in Galan Town, Fantu became one of the beneficiaries. The program, among others, facilitated a loan to targeted beneficiaries like Fantu. Fantu started her small business through selling vegetables and seedlings. As her hard work bore fruit, Fantu managed to expand her business into an animal fattening. “Today, I am not economically dependent on my husband’s income.” After making herself economically empowered, Fantu also realized her dream of having a second child, “When I gave birth to my first child six years ago, my husband and I felt the burden to live on the little income increased. As a model woman in her community, Fantu also awarded 25,000 Birr after winning a business competition for successfully using the 3,000 Birr loan and timely repaying. This motivated her to expand her business and to contribute more to her community. “Since I became beneficiary of the program, I have saved 40,000 Birr, including the cash from the award. If I sale the six sheep I currently own, I estimate to have 50,000 Birr or more. My short-term plan is to purchase goats and fatten them for sale, as they take shorter time to breed. I will continue to support the community through sharing my experience and by providing them with improved Gurage cabbage seedlings,” Fantu said. She added that her husband, Buziye Yibeltal, is one of the reasons behind her success. He supports her in the household duties, including cooking after receiving a training on Male Engagement and Gender Model Family offered under the program. UN Women in collaboration with SOS Sahel Ethiopia has been applying the approach to four cooperatives and enterprises with 200 members who have 1000 family members. The cooperative in Galan Town has fifty-four members. The cooperative members managed to save 190,000 Birr through a weekly contribution of 100 Birr by each member. This is helping more members to borrow from the revolving fund and to invest in various businesses to improve their livelihoods and that of their families.

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07 June 2023

Big strides towards localization of humanitarian action – the EHF experience

23 May 2016 was a day when national Governments, aid agencies, the private sector and members of the academia came in big numbers to convene in Istanbul for the World Humanitarian Summit. Under the initiative of the then Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the Summit was organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and had as its end goal to make the humanitarian system accountable, inclusive and more effective to respond to the increasing number of crises afflicting the world. To this end, the World Humanitarian Summit was a step in the right direction in that it attempted to bring all stakeholders together to share best practices and knowledge to feed into next steps. The outcome of this two-day summit is what was termed the “Grand Bargain: Agenda for Humanity”, which is a collection of 51 specific commitments made by 30 government and aid agency signatories. The number of signatories had increased to 48 by March 2017 and to 64 by December 2021. The 51 commitments were grouped into ten focus areas, amongst which is LOCALIZATION. Under this theme, the signatories committed to provide multi-year funding to local and national aid agencies; remove barriers that block partnerships with local and national aid agencies; support and collaborate with national government coordination of humanitarian aid; provide 25 per cent of funding to local or national organizations as directly as possible; agree, with the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC), key performance indicator about localization efforts; and increase the use of funding tools that enable more funding to local and national aid agencies. The rate of implementation of these grand and necessary commitments varies from country to country. But overall, the sentiment seems to be that the implementation is not near where it should be and that more needs to be done and fast. In Ethiopia, the humanitarian community has been actively working to promote the localization agenda since the Grand Bargain of 2016. There is widespread agreement on the value of partnering with local organizations as they facilitate humanitarian action in hard-to-reach areas, and often have wide constituency to implement community-based projects, hence providing a comparative advantage in humanitarian access, timeliness of response and accountability to affected community. However, notwithstanding significant tangible achievements registered, actual results on the ground were by no means satisfactory in the initial years. But things have visibly started to change in recent years. The OCHA-managed Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) is one of the champions of the localization agenda in Ethiopia. The Fund has been exerting concrete efforts since 2018, but nothing compares to achievements registered in 2022 when it has made a complete overhaul of the way the Fund operates in order to accommodate local partners and to implement the Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team’s (EHCT) National NGO (NNGO) Engagement Strategy. Localization is now the second strategic priority for EHF after lifesaving interventions. In parallel to gradually increasing the number of national NGOs eligible for funding, EHF has drastically increased the percentage of funds allocated for the latter. To this end, EHF has prioritized national NGOs, especially women-led and faith-based organizations, in its capacity assessment strategy for eligibility of partners in 2022. By the end of 2022, seven (7) new national NGOs became eligible to receive direct funding from the EHF. Overall, between 2018 and 2022, the number of eligible national partners has increased from three (3) to 15, and the total fund allocated to national NGOs during the same period increased from 6 per cent to 36 per cent. An additional 11 national NGOs (including four women-led organizations) are going through the eligibility assessment process and a good portion are likely to become EHF partners in 2023. Zemede Zewdie, Country Representative of the International NGO Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and member of the EHF Advisory Board stated, “EHF has made remarkable progress in the implementation of the localization agenda and in supporting local organizations’ involvement in the humanitarian response. Two noteworthy positive developments include the decision for 30% of the funding to go to local organizations, and the policy of international partners partnering with local organizations to proportionally allocate the overhead budget with the local partner. Members of the Humanitarian INGOs forum (HINGO) like CRS have already established a system for building the capacity of local organizations, sharing risks, and accompanying them in institutional and technical capacity development. CRS fully works with local organizations.” The year 2022 also saw significant changes in the structure and make-up of the EHF, enabling a more inclusive and more transparent Fund management, which is also in line with the new Global Guidelines for Country Based Pooled Funds (CBPF). To this end, the composition of the EHF’s senior governance structure where strategy and policy issues of the Fund are discussed and agreed upon (The Advisory Board) was completely changed. It was in 2018 that the first national NGO was granted membership to the Advisory Board, and since then and until mid-2022, four donors, two INGOs, two UN agencies and one NNGO constituted the Board and made decisions that turned the wheel of the Fund. However, by end-2022, equal seat and equal voices were allocated to the bodies represented in the Board. Therefore, since 2022, the most senior body, the Advisory Board, is run by three donors, three INGOs, three NNGOs and three UN agencies, with rotating membership. In addition to the Advisory Board, the composition of the Review Committee was changed. This Committee, which is responsible for technically reviewing and vetting hundreds of project proposals and recommend projects to be prioritized for funding was not standardized across the clusters. But in 2022, inclusive, transparent and fair selection of project proposals was ensured by manning the review committee with one representative from an INGO, one from a NNGO, one from UN agency and one cluster coordinator. The review committee and its processes are now led by UNOCHA. Mihreteab Belay, Director of the National NGO ASDEPO and member of the EHF Advisory Board commended the significant strides made towards localization of humanitarian action through EHF’s committed efforts as follows, “National NGOs are ideal partners to deliver life-saving assistance in the complex and highly fragile humanitarian context in Ethiopia. Despite capacity and structural limitations that have long limited our humanitarian activities and active involvement in the Ethiopia humanitarian coordination architecture, we have done a lot and continue to be close to the affected population listening to their plight and addressing their priority needs as much as our resources allow. The successful measures recently taken by EHF are significant steps in the right direction to empower National NGOs to more efficiently engage in humanitarian action in Ethiopia. I am happy to see the seeds of localization starting to bear fruit.” EHF’s achievements, particularly in 2022, reflect the renewed overall commitment of the leadership at all levels of the Ethiopia humanitarian response and coordination architecture. Through maintaining these commitments and pushing through these changes in 2023 and beyond, we are certain to see a humanitarian system that is more accountable, more inclusive and more effective to respond to the increasing number of conflict, violence and natural disaster-driven crises in Ethiopia. This will not only have better value for money, but more importantly, will help in reducing unnecessary morbidity and mortality and the resulting suffering of millions of men, women and children affected by crises.

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07 June 2023

Creating safe and empowering public spaces for women and girls

Hawassa City, capital of Sidama Region of Ethiopia, is 273 km south of Addis Ababa. The city is a tourist destination and a weekend gateway with sizable young female workers working at textile factories based in the Hawassa Industrial Park. UN Women’s two studies: “Assessment of Protection from Violence Against Women and Girls in Hawassa” and “Scoping Study for Hawassa Safe City and Safe Public Spaces Programme” show that there is high number of sexual violence against women and girls (SVAWG) cases in the city. This prompted UN Women to pilot a program known as “Safe City and Safe Public Spaces with Women and Girls.” This UN Women’s flagship programme aims to create safe and empowering public spaces for women and girls free from sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence through the implementation of evidence based, comprehensive and coordinated prevention and response strategies, including capacity strengthening initiatives in collaboration with local government stakeholders, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and faith-based institutions. Under the leadership of the Hawassa City Administration, an advisory group, constituting 17 government offices, CSOs and faith-based organizations was established to coordinate the SVAWG prevention and response work in the city. This multi-sectoral partnership is envisaged to serve as a platform for implementing different initiatives as well as for enhancing learning, ownership, and accountability. According to Tesfaye Abebe, Director at Hawassa City Administration and chair of the advisory group, said that the group has brought changes in the overall VAWG prevention and response in the city. “There is a well-coordinated effort, as 17 organizations came together by signing Memorandum of Understanding and committing to mainstreaming the VAWG in their work,” he added. The programme helped strengthen ongoing individual organization efforts, as it created ownership and better coordination. “The coordination platform led to better handling of cases, because there are good referral linkages among police, Bureau of Women and Social Affairs, Bureau of the Attorney General, health facilities and safe houses. Cases being handled backdoor involving negotiations with survivors and their families are now significantly reduced. I take this as a success of the project,” Tesfaye noted. Another success of the Safe City Programme is the engagement of faith-based institutions in preventing and responding to SVAWG in Hawassa City. Faith based institutions in the Ethiopian context are very instrumental, as they have strong presence on the ground and a lot of influence among followers. According to Megabi Haimanot Kesis (Reverend)] Netsanet Akleweg, Deputy Manager of the Sidama Region Diocese at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a lot has changed in the 12 churches under the Diocese and its clergy’s teachings when it comes to breaking the taboo in discussing SVAWG in the church. The leaders of the church and members of the Clergy have got membership in the coordination group after receiving the trainings. “Before we took part in the program, it would have felt strange to talk about the different forms of SVAWG in the church setting. Members were externalizing the issue, as if it was not happening to the church. The feedback was mixed among members of the church. Few didn’t not feel comfortable to hear it, but others were also glad that we have started to talk about this societal issue in the church,” Kesis Netsanet Said. Kesis Esayas Gebremedhin, Head of Debre Eyesus Church under EOTC in Hawassa, who also participates in the project noted that there was a resistance from clergy members in accepting VAWG. But it was accepted by members of the congregation at all levels. “After being part of this program, I refused to engage in mediation that was requested mostly by the family of the perpetrator with a view to assisting the aggressor to elude legal consequences. “I say I cannot get involved in this. It must be handled in the court,” Kesis Esayas said. Ms. Senait Negash, one of the five leaders of the Women’s Ministry at Hiwot Berhan Church in Hawassa, from Evangelical denomination, also noted the project was vital for them to start talking about SVAWG in the church. “I am glad that now we developed that trust in the congregation that women and girls now have the confidence in coming to us and knowing there is someone that will stand up for them,” she said. UN Women Ethiopia is implementing a safe city and safe public spaces programme in Addis Ababa and Hawassa as part of UN Women’s Safe Cities and Safe Public Places for Women and Girls Global Flagship Initiative. The programme brought together the city administration, Bureau of Women and Social Affairs, education, transport, justice, health sector, faith-based organizations and civil society organizations. The programme is being implemented in partnership with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), local faith partners and other stakeholders. The initiative in Hawassa was supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) in 2019. The implementation of the program continues through the support from UN Women Strategic note donors including Government of Netherlands, Government of Norway, and Government of Sweden as part the broader EVAWG programme.

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07 June 2023

Mentoring host and refugee youth in Ethiopia to become future leaders

The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), organized a Youth Leadership Academy for members of the Youth Network Committee (YNC) in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, in March 2023. The YNC was formed in 2022 as part of a project entitled “Advancing young people’s engagement and meaningful participation in the PROSPECTS programme”. This academy provided a valuable opportunity to YNC members to gain knowledge and skills to fulfil their advisory role to the project and become organizers, advocators and leaders in their communities. Launch of the Youth Leadership Academy The opening ceremony of the Academy included representatives from the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ethiopia, the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, the Refugees and Returnees Service and the Ethiopian Centre for Disability and Development, along with officials of the three organizing agencies. In her opening remarks, H.E Muna Ahmed, State Minister of the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, said: “This Academy is an important forum for young people to be able to share their views and acquire employability and leadership skills. Together, these young minds can develop a collaborative strategy to address the challenges and to improve prospects of refugee and host communities.” The State Minister also reiterated the government's commitment to support the project’s capacity-building activities. In his address, Girmachew Zewdu, Senior Policy Officer of the Netherlands Embassy, highlighted the way in which the academy aligns with the Dutch government’s commitment to scale up international initiatives aimed at engaging young people in the economy and strengthening their voice through meaningful participation. He said, “The involvement of young people in shaping and implementing policies that affect them is of a high importance for the Netherlands. This value is also reflected at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands which has set up a Youth Advisory Committee to advise the Ministry on execution of policies that are relevant to young people.” Reminding participants that young people from refugee, internally displaced and host communities have historically been left out of decision-making processes, Jean-Yves Barba, Chief Technical Advisor of ILO PROSPECTS Ethiopia, said: “These young people should have a say and be meaningfully engaged in interventions and programmes that affect them directly. The immense talent, resilience and inherent leadership capacity that youth in forced displacement contexts bring with them is indisputable.” The youth engagement project aims to maximize synergies and leverage comparative advantages of development and humanitarian agencies to enhance the impact of interventions targeting refugee and host communities. Milagros Lazo Castro, ILO Global Coordinator for the Meaningful Youth Engagement Project, said: “This Academy sets a perfect example in this regard bringing together the technical expertise, skills and resources of the ILO, UNHCR and UNICEF to nurture leadership skills of young people from host and refugee communities.” Broad-based training programme The first day of the academy started with reflections around the role of young leaders in their communities. Members of the YNC shared their leadership journey, including the additional challenges and opportunities faced by forcibly displaced youth. Representatives of the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, the Bureau of Youth and Sport, the Bureau of Innovation and Technology and the Bureau of Skills and Jobs gave detailed presentations on their youth engagement work and proposed plan of action for the inclusion of forcibly displaced youth in their respective office priorities. In addition, representatives of the Refugees and Returnees Service and the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions presented national policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks on the right to work and rights at work of young people in forced displacement contexts, including freedom of association. Further elements of the training programme included communications and advocacy, promoting peaceful coexistence, mediation and conflict resolution, leadership and gender and disability mainstreaming in community work. The final day of the training wrapped up with summarization of weeklong dynamic discussions and inspiring insights. Way forward One of the key outcomes of the workshop was the development of a joint work plan on mainstreaming gender and disability sensitive approaches in the ongoing project activities. “I personally had limited knowledge, especially on gender mainstreaming, disability inclusion and advocacy. This training has helped me develop important insights. All the participants felt heard and learned a lot and now we are keen to apply this learning in our community work,” said Sileshi Umer, Vice Chairperson of the YNC. Marta Mamuye, a member of the YNC, explained: “We are here representing the youth of both refugee and host communities who need better opportunities. Our goal is to find solutions to make their lives better. This training will help us to address some of the challenges we might face in handling our assignments.” In expressing the gratitude of the YNC members to the organizers, Hudeyfe Abdirashid, Vice Chairperson of the YNC, said: “The academy gave us a chance to learn from each other and understand each other better, keeping in mind that there are young people in the committee from different communities, including refugees and young persons with disabilities. As a result, we will be more mindful about adopting more inclusive approach in the future interventions we will plan in our communities.” By Zelalem A. Desta

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Press Release

29 May 2023

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety arrives in Ethiopia for a two-day visit in support of new mobility initiatives

In Ethiopia, the Special Envoy will meet with senior Government officials and representatives of the public, private sector and the civil society and visit health and training centres from May 29-31. The Special Envoy Kenya will also visit Kenya (June 1-5) and Zimbabwe (June 6-8). The purpose of the mission is also to assess progress after the United Nations Road Safety Performance Reviews (RSPR) of Ethiopia (2020) and Zimbabwe (2022). These reviews, which are strongly supported by the Special Envoy are an initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to assist governments in identifying the most fundamental road safety priority needs and to offer recommendations to strengthen road safety management capacities. This visit of the Special Envoy will be also an opportunity to look at the results of UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) projects in the region. The UNRSF-funded project, 'Safer Streets for Road Users in Africa', is improving road safety for pedestrians and cyclists in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique and Guinea led by UN-HABITAT, UNEP, UNECA and UNICEF. To date, in Ethiopia, bike share trainings were held for transport authorities, and the Mayor of Hawassa requested local authorities to research car-free days and zones. Meanwhile in Kenya, a Minecraft workshop – digital lego for urban design – was conducted, followed by tactical urbanism interventions to test the designs developed by vulnerable road users, and showcased at last year’s Africities Summit in Kisumu. “The majority of road traffic deaths occur in Africa and the first victims are young people. As projections say that by 2050, at least one in every three births will be in Africa, accelerated and strategic action by stakeholders and governments is essential," highlights the Special Envoy. Road crashes affect principally the most vulnerable Road traffic crashes are the leading cause of youth mortality in Africa. Globally, Africa accounts for about 25% of the number of road crash victims, while the continent has barely 2% of the world's vehicle fleet. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected, with a fatality rate of 27/100,000 inhabitants, three times higher than the European average of 9/100,000. The world average is 18/100,000. According to the World Bank, the mortality rate in Ethiopia is 28 per 100,000 inhabitants. Car occupants are the most vulnerable road users in the country and accounted for nearly 52% of road deaths in 2018. Pedestrians constituted the second most vulnerable road user group in the country, with up to 33 percent of fatalities, and with the largest share of road traffic deaths occurring in towns and cities. Buses and commercial vehicles (trucks) were involved in a disproportionately high number of road traffic deaths, representing nearly 65% of fatal crashes in the country in 2018. According to the World Bank, the mortality rate in Kenya is 28 per 100,000 inhabitants. Monthly fatalities in the country increased by 26% from January 2015 to January 2020, while injuries increased by 46.5% over the same period. Pedestrians make up the majority of road deaths (37%). The other vulnerable road users are pillion passengers and motorcyclists (boda-boda). Address the whole system and rethink mobility Drunk driving, speeding, drowsiness, negligence, non-use of seat belts and helmets, negligence and non-compliance with traffic regulations are the main cause of road crashes in Africa. The ageing of the vehicle fleet and public transport, false licenses, lack of enforcement of penalties and the lack of seriousness of technical inspections are also major causes of road crashes. The core solutions to address road safety at the country level fall under the safe systems approach, which considers improved management, safer roads, vehicles and road users, as well as better post-crash response. With African cities undergoing rapid population growth, urban transport infrastructure services are essential to improve mobility and enhance access to opportunities. The management of road safety data is also key to better design mobility policies. Among the solutions to be implemented include the need to strengthen health services for the injured, adherence to the African Road Safety Charter, the United Nations Basic Conventions on Road Safety, and the need to strengthen public awareness campaigns. It is also necessary to protect the most vulnerable road users, namely pedestrians and cyclists, who are often also the poorest and youngest. Africa has the highest proportion of cyclist and pedestrian fatalities, accounting for 44% of the total number of road deaths. Walking remains the dominant mode of transport in Ethiopia, including Addis Ababa where walking accounts for 54% of all travel. But like many African countries, many streets lack continuous walkways and safe facilities for cycling. As we have just come out of the UN Global Road Safety Week, with the theme - #RethinkMobility, it is time for Africa to seize the opportunity to invest in safe and sustainable mobility solutions for all. In addition to the human tragedy, road crashes trap countries into a vicious circle of poverty. According to the World Bank, the cost of road crashes represents 8,8% of Ethiopia's annual GDP , 9,1% of Kenya's and 13,3% of Zimbabwe’s. Another reason to rethink mobility and to invest in road safety. One recommendation of the RSPR in Ethiopia was for the Government to prioritize efforts to address capacity deficiencies of the institutions involved in road safety in the country, including greater sustainable financing for road safety. It also recommended strengthening road traffic legislation and other related regulations, such as the driving licensing directives. The establishment of a crash data management system was also targeted as critical to introducing evidence-based interventions in the country. New mobility initiatives in Ethiopia The government of Ethiopia has demonstrated commitment to adopting a more equitable approach that addresses the mobility needs of all citizens. In June 2020, the Ministry of Transport, with the support of UNEP, UN Habitat, UNRSF and ITDP, launched the Non-Motorized Transport Strategy 2020-2029, a national policy designed to promote walking and cycling as a key mode of transport. Ethiopian communities, with government support, have also started an Open Streets Movement called Menged Le Sew, meaning, “Streets for the People.” This is a monthly initiative that aims to tackle some of the consequences of rapid urbanization by focusing on the importance of healthy active living, sustainable mobility, social cohesion and safe streets. Car-free days play an important role in shifting the mindsets of citizens and policy makers. The obsolescence of the vehicle fleet requires special attention. Used cars constitute over 85% of the vehicle fleet in Ethiopia, many of which are not equipped with basic safety features. According to Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the central vehicle registry (CVR), between 2011 and 2019 the number of imported second-hand public and private vehicles increased from 800,000 to 1,500,000. The United Nations Road Safety Fund is investing in a project for importing safer and environmentally friendly vehicles in Africa. In partnership with government ministries, the private sector, and civil society, the initiative supports the regulation of the export and import of used vehicles in Africa, particularly vehicle regulations and technical inspections or anti-lock braking systems. In 2021, the project contributed to the European Commission's proposal, adopted in 2023, to improve regulations on waste shipments. --------------------- Media Contact: Secretariat of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety: Priti Gautam priti.gautam@un.org Stephanie Schumacher stephanie.schumacher@un.org ----------------- Notes to Editors: The United Nations has invested significantly in tackling the problem of road safety globally. Following the “Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020”, the UN General Assembly in August 2020 adopted a resolution on “Improving Road Safety”, that reconfirmed its commitment to halving the number of global traffic deaths and injuries and to providing access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all by 2030. In July 2022, the road safety community met in New York City for the first ever High-Level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety at the United Nations General Assembly, unanimously adopting a text titled: “Political declaration of the high-level meeting on improving global road safety”. To galvanize intersectoral actions and raise the visibility of road safety, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed in 2015 Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety. He was reconfirmed in this role by the new UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in 2017 and in 2021. In 2018, together with 14 UN organizations, the Special Envoy launched the UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF). In his role as UN Special Envoy, Mr. Todt contributes, among other things, to mobilize sustained political commitment to make road safety a priority; to advocate and raise awareness of UN legal instruments on road safety; to share established good practices in this area; to striving to generate adequate funding through strategic partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors. Special Envoy brochure and Twitter account. UNECE acts as the secretariat for the Special Envoy for Road Safety. UNECE is the custodian of the United Nations road safety legal instruments applicable worldwide, such as the Convention on Road Traffic, the Convention on Road Signs and Signals, and the 1958, 1997 and 1998 Vehicle Regulations Agreements. UNECE services the ECOSOC Committee of Experts on Transport of Dangerous Goods, as well as the only permanent United Nations intergovernmental forum on road safety (Working Party on Road Traffic Safety) and the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, both in the framework of the Inland Transport Committee, which is the only permanent UN forum specialized in inland modes of transport.

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Press Release

26 May 2023

UN Headquarters Observes International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers

UN Headquarters observed the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers and marked the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping on Thursday, 25 May. In 1948, the historic decision was made to deploy military observers to the Middle East to supervise the implementation of Israel-Arab Armistice Agreements, in what became the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Since that time, more than two million peacekeepers from 125 countries have since served in 71 operations around the world. Today, 87,000 women and men are serving in 12 conflict zones across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Ethiopia is currently the 13th largest contributor to UN Peacekeeping with 1,470 military and police personnel serving in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). During formal ceremonies at United Nations Headquarters, Secretary-General, António Guterres, laid a wreath to honour the more than 4,200 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948. He also presided over a ceremony in the General Assembly Hall at which Dag Hammarskjöld Medals were awarded posthumously to 103 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the UN flag last year. Among the peacekeepers honoured posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjold medal were two from Ethiopia: Major Adnew Eshetu HABTESILASSE who served with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA); and Mr. Yonathan Lucas EMBAYE who served in a civilian capacity with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The Secretary-General also presented the 2022 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award to Captain Cecilia Erzuah, a military officer from Ghana who served with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). Created in 2016, the Award “recognizes the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security”. In his message, the Secretary-General said: “United Nations peacekeepers are the beating heart of our commitment to a more peaceful world. For 75 years, they have supported people and communities rocked by conflict and upheaval across the globe. Today, on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we honour their extraordinary contributions to international peace and security.” The theme for this year’s observance, “Peace Begins with Me”, recognizes the contribution and efforts of UN peacekeepers alongside many partners including the communities that we serve to secure peace and progress. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said: “Peacekeeping is a powerful example of how strong partnerships and collective political will can result in meaningful change. Working together with local communities and other partners, our personnel protect civilians, advance political solutions, and help end conflicts in the pursuit of sustainable peace. We appreciate the support of all stakeholders to ensure that UN Peacekeeping can continue to work as an effective multilateral tool for global peace and security.” The International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002, to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. Media Contacts: Douglas Coffman, Department of Global Communications -+1 (917) 361-9923, E-mail: coffmand@un.org; or Oana Raluca Topala, Department of Peace Operations E-mail: topala@un.org For more information, please visit the Peacekeepers Day websites here: https://www.un.org/en/observances/peacekeepers-day; or https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/international-day-of-peacekeepers-2023

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Press Release

08 May 2023

Ethiopian farmers set to benefit from climate-smart initiatives

“The grant comes at a critical time for the country, to build the resilience of smallholder farmers to multiple shocks and safeguard food and nutrition security. This grant offers us the opportunity to build on IFAD’s previous work in the country to facilitate farmers’ access to rural finance, technologies and markets, and to scale up these interventions that have a multiplier effect on building resilience of food systems in Ethiopia,” said Sara Mbago-Bhunu, IFAD Regional Director, East and Southern Africa Division. PACT will be implemented over a seven-year period and aims to benefit 750,000 rural people in 6 regional states – Amhara; Oromia; Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region; Sidama; Somali; and South western Ethiopia – with a focus on women (50 per cent of project participants), youth (40 per cent) and people with disabilities (5 per cent). Additional financing, to expand the geographic area to the rest of the country, is being negotiated with other financiers. To achieve its goal, the grant will support community-led, climate-smart initiatives that aim to improve productivity through equitable and sustainable access to natural resources and market-led production. The project will also promote agribusiness development to strengthen farmers’ and pastoralists’ capacity to access remunerative markets and rural finance. The PACT grant is funded by IFAD (US$ 78.2 million), the European Union (US$ 17.84 million) and ASAP (US$ 10.5 million). Since 1980, IFAD has invested US$829.83 million in 21 rural development programmes and projects in Ethiopia worth a total of US$2.3 billion. These have directly benefited around 11.5 million rural households. Note to editors IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations specialized agency. Based in Rome – the United Nations food and agriculture hub – IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided more than US$24 billion in grants and low-interest loans to fund projects in developing countries. A wide range of photographs and broadcast-quality video content of IFAD’s work in rural communities are available for download from our Image Bank. Press release No.: IFAD/XX/2023 ……………………………….. Contact: Linda Odhiambo Communications Analyst IFAD Communications Division Mob: +254 780320073 E-mail: l.odhiambo@ifad.org

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Press Release

19 August 2022

Message from UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Ethiopia on World Humanitarian Day

We mark World Humanitarian Day every year on 19 August to express solidarity with the millions of people affected by humanitarian crises around the world and pay tribute to the humanitarian workers who help them. Today is a day we reflect on our accomplishments and commit to redouble our efforts to respond and reach the millions in need. 2022 continues to be a challenging year with multiple and simultaneous crises demanding our attention. Conflict and violence in several pockets of the country, drought in eastern and southern Ethiopia and floods in parts of the country are causing loss, displacement and suffering to millions of Ethiopians. Today, Ethiopia hosts one of the largest number of people requiring humanitarian assistance. In the face of this enormous challenge, we remain committed to reaching all people in need and to carry our work upholding the principles we so cherish, the principle of impartiality, the principle of neutrality and the principle of operational independence. At the center of it all are aid workers and front-line responders who selflessly put their lives at risk and sacrifice their comfort and their time with family to help those in need. Thank you for your passion, your selflessness and your sacrifice! I would also like to thank our government and donor partners for their generous support to the people in need in Ethiopia given the ever-limited resources available. I count on your continued support to ensure that the people in need in Ethiopia receive the critical assistance they require, the dignity they deserve and the resilience to withstand future shocks. This year’s World Humanitarian Day theme is: It Takes a Village. Let us be that village to bring the assistance and hope to the millions of people in need in the country. Together, we can. Dr. Catherine Sozi, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Ethiopia

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