Pathways to accompany Ethiopia’s strive towards sustainable development

For Likke Serawitu, 24, a member of Ethiopian Youth Council, Ethiopia is grappling with a host of development and humanitarian challenges, including conflicts, unemployment, migration, poor infrastructures and gender inequalities that need collective response from different actors to address them.

“Despite economic growth, job creation has not kept pace with the growing number of young people entering the labor market,” he says while expressing his concern over the high rate of unemployment. 

Likke also feels that the youth have been disproportionately affected by increased instability and conflicts that cause multiple and intertwined challenges. “The instability disrupts education and employment opportunities and can lead to displacement and insecurity.” 

“Due to the lack of opportunities and political instability, many young Ethiopians seek better opportunities abroad, often risking their lives in dangerous migration routes.”

Yet, Likke hopes that it is possible to address these challenges with the right investment, focus and commitment of multiple actors, including the UN that need to put youth at the heart of their priorities and collective efforts.

Pathways for sustainable development  

The UN in Ethiopia recently organized a strategic prioritization meeting that involved representatives of Ethiopian youth like Likke, government, civil society organizations, the private sector, academia, media and other stakeholders. The meeting was aimed to build a shared understanding and agreement on the joint goals and results to be achieved by the UN and government of Ethiopia in support of the national development priorities of the country over the next five years. 

At the meeting, the United Nations in Ethiopia presented its proposed five pathways and enablers for the UN collective response to help Ethiopia address its national priorities and gaps in its progress towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The proposed five-pathways are peace and governance; economy, food systems and energy; social development, climate, resilience and preparedness; and gender equality and the empowerment of women and young people. Policy and advocacy; capacities and systems, financing; digitalization; and data and population dynamics are also identified as key enablers.

Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Development Framework (2020-2025), the UN has been supporting the country’s development priorities. Nevertheless, the period has been characterized by the overlapping and multiple crises and challenges facing the country. 

The onset of various crises since 2020 - including COVID-19, recurrent climatic shocks such as floods and droughts, desert locust infestation, conflict, international developments, including the global cost of living crisis - have had significant negative impacts on development trajectories and the well-being of Ethiopians. 

Building on the lesson learnt over the past four years and the current country context, the proposed pathways or priorities will be the basis for the next United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF 2025-2030), which is the most important instrument for planning and implementation of the UN development activities at country level.

The pathways presented for the discussion are also fundamentally built on the Ten-Year Development Plan (TYDP) for 2021-2030 of the country as well as the Six Transitions that are deemed to have catalytic effects to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.

What the UN can deliver

In her statement to the meeting, State Minister of Finance, Ms. Semereta Sewasew, said, “Ethiopia remains ready to leverage the immense mandates and comparative advantages of the UN development system in the most promising result areas.”

“Jointly identifying the critical development challenges and opportunities to set the core cooperation areas for the next five years within the national development priorities as expressed by the Ten-Year Perspective Plan and the Home-Grown Economic Reform 2.0 is a crucial step.”

While acknowledging the linkages between the proposed pathways and the 10-year national development plan, State Minister of Planning and Development, Seyoum Mekonen (PhD) emphasized the need to ensure the UNSDCF’s priorities are also aligned with the national mid-term plan. “The mid-term plan has 23 policy areas and 135 programs. We want to see these are alighted with the UNSDCF.”

For civil society representatives like Mesud Gebeyehu, Executive Director of the Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations CERHO), the critical issue that cannot be ignored both in the development and implementation of the cooperation framework is the engagement of civil society organizations that are closely working with the communities on the ground to drive transformation. 

“Empowering and engaging CSOs is essential to harness the potential of communities towards achieving transformative change that engenders sustainable development and a prosperous future for the country,” Mesud said.

He also underlined the need to put emphasis on the context of the country including human rights, conflict resolution and rule of law in the process of developing the cooperation framework.

Nigussu Legesse (PhD) is Executive Director for the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association (CCRDA), an indigenous non-profit umbrella organization of more than 400 secular and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) in Ethiopia.

According to Nigussu, peace should be at the centre of the cooperation framework. “We understand the need is high in the country with more than 120 million people though resources are limited. But we need to prioritize areas that are building blocks for the achievement of sustainable development; and peace should be at the front and centre of all our priorities,” he said.

In his remarks to the meeting, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov noted that multiple crises facing the country during the UNSDCF (2020 -2025) have strained the country's development trajectory, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable solutions that empower communities and reduce reliance on external aid.

Dr. Alakbarov also underlined that an integrated and coordinated approach is essential for achieving the SDGs in Ethiopia and should guide the development and implementation of the next UNSDCF 2025-2030. 

“Measuring our impact, providing evidence, and delivering results are at the heart of the UN mission in Ethiopia,” he said.

Informed by lessons from the current UNSDCF, there is a shared understanding among the UN Country Team that the UN in partnership with the government and development actors needs to tackle Ethiopia's development challenges head-on and reignite momentum towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“We need to build on the UNCT’s dedication and hard work, clearly demonstrated on the ground. A coordinated and collective approach will help meet humanitarian needs and facilitate a genuine transition towards the SDGs,” said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.

Likke also believes that the UN can leverage its comparative advantages to remain a key and relevant partner for Ethiopia in support of its national priorities. For Likke, the UN can support initiatives like entrepreneurship and vocational trainings, start-ups and strengthening small businesses that can have impact in creating job opportunities for young people. The UN support should also include promoting and supporting sustainable agricultural practices to increase productivity and income for rural communities, Likke added.

Likke further expects the next cooperation framework to embrace a wide range of areas of support including addressing climate change, migration management, prevention of gender-based violence, enhancing the quality of education and more importantly supporting conflict resolution and peacebuilding initiatives. 

Looking ahead the next five years, the UN in Ethiopia is engaging all relevant actors to make sure the next Cooperation Framework is inclusive of views of the youth like Likke and other actors and leave no one behind.