Map of Ethiopia

Working in Crises and Conflict

Ethiopia crisis and conflict
U.S. food aid helps vulnerable families withstand crises like droughts
USAID

Stability in Ethiopia is important not only to the people of Ethiopia, but also to the region as a whole. We encourage government and civil society to collaborate on improving conflict management policies and practices at the local, regional and national levels. We also ensure that women are empowered to play a role in peace building.

At the state level, our efforts increase focus on knowledge and skills essential to improve conflict management and sustainable development, such as land use, planning and natural resource management. At the regional level, we promote efforts to manage conflict and promote development along state boundaries. We also focus on inclusive, conflict-sensitive humanitarian responses and development planning to reduce local tensions and violence.

Training at universities has reduced the number of conflicts on campuses, resulting in the Ministry of Federal Affairs incorporating peer mediation into a peace building strategy that is now being implemented at 22 federal universities. Improved relationships between ethnic groups and clans have reduced localized violence—specifically livestock rustling—and increased the sharing of grazing lands and water points.

Humanitarian Assistance

Ethiopia's population remains highly vulnerable to perennial environmental shocks, including flooding, drought, volcanic activity, disease outbreaks, and crop losses associated with locust and army worm infestations. Additionally, localized conflict and resultant population movements strain limited local resources, further impacting food security, nutrition and water availability in affected. To save lives and reduce suffering, We provide emergency food aid, emergency relief supplies, therapeutic feeding for malnutrition, protection for vulnerable populations, and water and sanitation improvements to vulnerable populations. Between 2015 and 2016, our humanitarian assistance supported food distributions to nearly five million Ethiopians and refugees in need of emergency food assistance, as well as provided more than $104 million to respond to non-food emergencies. 

Building Resilience

We collaborate with the Government of Ethiopia, international organizations, U.N. agencies, and other donors to respond to disasters in a timely manner and increase Ethiopians’ ability to withstand the effects of shocks. For the strongest response to these crises, USAID created the Horn of Africa Resilience Network, bringing together relief and development teams to identify ways to layer, sequence and integrate humanitarian assistance and development programs around the shared goal of building resilience. The network has developed plans focused on the region’s worst hit areas and aims to benefit directly 10 million people and to reduce the region’s emergency caseload by one million people by 2017. In April 2012, we, together with more than 51 donor and international development partners, led the formation of the Global Alliance for Action for Drought Resilience and Growth in response to a call from heads of state from East Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development to end recurrent drought emergencies in the Horn. The alliance brings together relief and development actors and resources to take joint action in support of effective country-led plans, with an emphasis on building resilience and promoting economic growth in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel. We serve as the “convener” for the alliance.

Some of USAID's activities designed to build resilience in Ethiopia:

  • Building Pastoralist Resilience Network in Southern Ethiopia: Provide access to sustainable clean water and facilitate healthy hygiene and sanitation behavior for 8,000 people by fostering local stakeholder collaboration while garnering support for women-led innovation.

  • Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement and Market Expansion: Contribute to increased growth with resiliency in Ethiopia by promoting practical applications of livelihoods information and providing inputs to the decision-making process both on the emergency response and development planning sides.

  • Productive Safety Net Program: Transfer resources to chronically food-insecure households through food-for-work programs that engage recipients in public works activities focused on the development of community resources.

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