The Government of Sweden provides another US$2.5 million to UNICEF Ethiopia to support Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), health and nutrition programmes in the drought affected regions of Afar, Oromia Somali and Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s regions.
In Ethiopia, where 8.5 million people are currently in need of relief food assistance due to the recurrent drought emergency, 376,000 children are estimated to require treatment for severe acute malnutrition, 10.5 million people require access to safe drinking water and sanitation services and 1.9 million school-aged children need emergency school feeding and learning material assistance.
The contribution provided by the Government of Sweden will be used to construct and rehabilitate water supply schemes, procure Emergency Drug and Case Treatment Centre kits as well as obtain Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) supplies including ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF), tents and Stabilization Centre materials in the four regions highly affected by the drought emergency.
UNICEF is grateful to the Government of Sweden for its continued support for providing life-saving interventions during the current humanitarian situation which continues to affect mostly women and children.
In 2017, the Government of Sweden has contributed more than US$5 million to UNICEF-assisted humanitarian programmes in Ethiopia.
The Government avails US$ 9.2 million contribution to implement the programme in five years
12 October 2017, ADDIS ABABA – The Government of Sweden provided US$9.2 million to UNICEF Ethiopia to support a national integrated safety net system for the most vulnerable women and children in both rural and urban parts of the country.The initial phase will provide direct cash support to 1,000 households in Amhara region and 1,000 households in Addis Ababa with the objective to scale up innovations for the 8 million Rural Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) beneficiaries and the envisaged 4.7 million urban poor who are going to benefit from the Urban PSNP. The programme will be implemented from 2017 to 2022.
The objective of this programme is to implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures which ensure increased access to a comprehensive package of social protection interventions and services to poor and vulnerable citizens coping with social and economic risks, vulnerabilities and deprivations. It also aims to strengthen the Government’s capacity to develop, implement, coordinate and monitor a national, child-sensitive social protection system in the country.
At the signing ceremony, H.E Mr Torbjörn Petterson, Ambassador of Sweden to Ethiopia said, “In spite of existing challenges, it is impressive to see strong government commitment, financially as well as technically, to support the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). Partnering with UNICEF in this particular endeavour, gives us leverage in terms of significant experience with previously supported pilot programmes which helped inform the design of PSNP 4.”
The first joint pilot project supported by UNICEF in Tigray, which MoLSA implemented between 2012-2015 together with the Tigray Bureau of Labour and Social Affairs (BoLSA), was guided by a rigorous evidence generation plan and demonstrated the role of community care structures and social workers. As a result, community care structures and social workers have since become crucial components of the national social protection system – a major milestone towards establishing a countrywide social welfare workforce.
“This timely contribution from SIDA will allow us to build on the rich experience of these successful pilot interventions. We are also expanding existing multi-sectoral linkages and will explore synergies between different public social protection measures, for example between PSNP and Community Based Health Insurance,” said Ms Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF Representative to Ethiopia. “We embrace this partnership with great enthusiasm since the outcome of the programme will extend beyond the pilot regions and further assist the Government of Ethiopia and UNICEF to develop a nationwide social protection system that is child sensitive and which prioritizes the most vulnerable and marginalized.”
Despite Ethiopia’s significant economic growth over the past decades, 32 per cent of Ethiopian children still live in poverty. Building an integrated and child sensitive social protection system, which focuses on those left behind, is a critical element in ensuring more inclusive development to the benefit of all children.
With the provision of access to an integrated social protection system in urban and rural areas, the programme aims to contribute to long-term poverty alleviation. In addition, the programme is expected to have a significant impact on the nutrition, health and education-related status of the target groups with a focus on adolescent girls. Furthermore, the proposed interventions will provide solid evidence to enable relevant government authorities to implement efficient and effective integrated social protection measures which will inform annual reviews of the social protection sector and future phases of national programmes such as the PSNP and the Urban PSNP.
The Government avails US$ 5.7 million to UNICEF’s drought response activities
New cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) arrives at a UNICEF warehouse
ADDIS ABABA, 22 June 2016 -The Government of Sweden contributes US$ 5.7 million to UNICEF to save children’s lives and protect children affected by El Niño-driven drought in Ethiopia. This is the single largest crisis contribution of Sweden to UNICEF globally this year. In addition to the grant provided through UNICEF Ethiopia, Sweden has provided US$25 million to the drought response in Ethiopia since September 2015.
The Swedish support comes at a critical time when Ethiopia is currently facing the worst drought in decades leaving 10.2 million people, including 6 million children, in need of emergency assistance. It also created critical water shortages in Somali, Afar, parts of SNNP, eastern Oromia, Amhara and Tigray regions. Poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, resulting from water shortage, are also contributing to an increase in disease outbreaks.
In addition, the number of severely malnourished children who need therapeutic feeding treatment continues to increase. UNICEF, together with the Government of Ethiopia and humanitarian partners, is stepping up efforts to address the needs of 458,000 children under five with Severe Acute Malnutrition and 2.5 million children, pregnant and lactating women with Moderate Acute Malnutrition.[1]
“Sweden has been a strong humanitarian and development partner to Ethiopia over the years. We are very committed to support the country in the struggle to combat and prevent the effects of the worst drought Ethiopia has seen in over 50 years,” said H.E. Jan Sadek, Ambassador of Sweden to Ethiopia. “Sweden is determined to continue to work for a deeper integration between humanitarian relief and long term development objectives. The partners in Ethiopia have come quite far in this integration but more needs to be done. We believe that in this regard, UNICEF, which has a mandate in both ‘spheres’, is playing a key role.”
Together with other donors, Sweden’s support enabled UNICEF to make the largest global purchase of Therapeutic Food for children in drought-stricken Ethiopia. With this new funding, UNICEF will work towards improving the capacity of health extension workers on Severe Acute Malnutrition management.
In addition, new stabilization centres will be established in existing health centres to cater to the increasing number of children with severe acute malnutrition. The contribution will also strengthen Mobile Health and Nutrition Teams which provide lifesaving primary health care, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation promotion services in hard hit drought areas of the Afar and Somali regions. Furthermore, water will be provided to primary schools for drinking as well as for routine handwashing in the Oromia Region.
“UNICEF appreciates the Government of Sweden’s generous contribution of life saving interventions for children and their families whose lives have been affected by the El-Niño driven drought emergency,” said Ms Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF Representative to Ethiopia. “UNICEF, together with the Government of Ethiopia and partners, continues to play an important role in scaling up its interventions in terms of nutrition, health, water sanitation and hygiene, child protection and education to mitigate the worst impact of this crisis.”
ADDIS ABABA, 22 April 2016 – Today, UNICEF thanked donors for their generous contributions and the Government for its strong leadership, which together have enabled a concerted response to the current El Niño driven drought in Ethiopia, particularly in treating children with severe malnutrition.
With support from donors, UNICEF has procured 543,631 cartons of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), which represents 22 per cent of the global order for 2015 and is one of the largest single purchases in UNICEF’s history. The donors include the Governments of Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States and partners including ECHO and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
To date in 2016, UNICEF procured in 2015 a further 73,344 cartons of RUTF out of a global procurement estimated at 565,623 cartons, which corresponds to 13 per cent of the global supply. In addition to RUTF, other supplies including therapeutic milk, routine drugs and hygiene and sanitation commodities have been procured as part of the drought response. To accommodate this large volume of supplies and enhance preparedness for the drought response, UNICEF rented a new warehouse in the Gerji area of Addis Ababa, earlier this year.
“On behalf of the Government of Ethiopia and UNICEF, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the humanitarian donors for their timely and generous financial contributions to purchase Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food that will save the lives of millions of children diagnosed with severe malnutrition,” said Ms Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF Representative to Ethiopia. “I would also like to especially thank the Ethiopian Customs Authority, the Ethiopian Food Medicine and Health Care Administration and Akakas Logistics, this enormous supply chain operation would not have been possible without their active support. By accelerating our joint nutrition interventions, we can transform the lives of millions of children to become healthy citizens and reach their full potential.”
Ethiopia is experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades due to El Niño weather condition which continues to wreak havoc on the lives of children and their families’ livelihoods. According to the latest Humanitarian Requirement Document issued this year, 6 million children are at risk from hunger, disease and lack of water. Malnutrition rates have greatly increased – 450,000 children are expected to be treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) this year.
As part of the joint drought response coordinated by the Government, UNICEF is leading the Nutrition, Water Sanitation Hygiene, Education (together with Save the Children) clusters and the Child Protection sub-cluster. Together with other partners, UNICEF implements life-saving humanitarian responses including procurement and supply of therapeutic food and milk, drugs, other medical supplies, plus water/sanitation and education and child protection supplies.
UNICEF also supports the treatment of severely malnourished children through the community-based management of acute malnutrition, with training, quality assurance and coordination with other partners. Regular nutrition screening helps ensure that malnutrition in children is diagnosed and treated early, thereby reducing cases of severe acute malnutrition and life-threatening complications.
The supply of RUTF procured by UNICEF to date to respond to the current emergency is worth US$28 million including freight and in-country distribution. With the continued effort of the Government and support from humanitarian actors, 350,451 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition in 2015.
17 June 2015, Nairobi, Kenya. Government representatives, technical experts, donors, and polio partners gathered on Wednesday, 17 June 2015 to review the polio outbreak status in the Horn of Africa (HOA) Region. The final assessment concluded the following:
The assessment team commends the overall robust outbreak response in the HOA with strong vaccination, communication strategy and strengthened surveillance.
The assessment team believes that transmission in Kenya and Ethiopia has been interrupted; however, continued undetected low level transmission cannot be ruled out in Somalia
Overall progress in the region was reviewed since onset of the outbreak in April 2013, which resulted in a total of 223 WPV cases across the region (10 in Ethiopia), and remaining challenges ahead were identified. Chaired by the Horn of Africa polio Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Chair, Dr. Jean-Marc Olive, the meeting gave opportunity to strategically reflect on the current outbreak status and required next steps for all three countries. Dr. Ephrem Tekle, Director of the Maternal and Child Health Directorate, Ethiopia Federal Ministry of Health responded positively to the wild poliovirus (WPV) interruption in Ethiopia, and also acknowledged the work ahead to further improve routine immunisation. “Successes achieved in the polio response are due to the political commitment and the support of partners,” said Dr. Ephrem. “We have been successful on SIAs (supplementary immunisation activities) and NIDs (National Immunisation Days). However, I don’t think we are yet fully successful on routine immunisation; there is a lot to do on routine immunisation even though WPV transmission is interrupted.” Dr. Ephrem acknowledged the strong focus on the involvement of religious and clan leaders in the Somali Region, and mobilisation of the community which have been instrumental to some of the immense achievements in the polio legacy process. He cited an example of community leaders asking for a generator so they could continue routine immunisation services. In moving ahead, Dr. Ephrem stressed the importance of sustaining the polio gains made, using the momentum to improve routine immunisation in the country, and also emphasised the importance to intensify the same efforts in regions bordering South Sudan, such as Benshangul Gumuz and Gambella, in light of the immense population migration. The HOA TAG Chair congratulated Dr. Ephrem and the Ethiopia team on their efforts and wished the country success for strengthening routine immunisation in the country, a challenging task. Closing remarks were provided by governments and partners such as Rotary International, CDC, The Gates Foundation, Red Cross, Core Group, USAID, Communication Initiative, UNICEF, WHO and the HOA TAG Chairman. Next steps for countries include working towards the polio legacy transition plan and using polio assets and achievement to further strengthen routine immunisation and beyond. Countries will continue to implement specific recommendations from the external assessment team, and the outbreak response in Somalia will be assessed again after three months. Following the Somalia assessment, the next HOA TAG meeting in August, and continual monitoring of regional progress, it is hoped that soon, the entire HOA region will be declared “polio-free.”
Through the generous support of polio donors and partners such as the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; Crown Prince Court, Abu Dhabi, UAE; European Union; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; National Philanthropic Trust; Slim Foundation; Rotary International; Swedish International Development Cooperation; and others, successful interruption of the outbreak in Ethiopia has been achieved. Continued collaboration is critical to sustain gains for polio and routine immunisation for healthy children and families in Ethiopia.
Five United Nations agencies, known as UNH4+ (UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and WHO) and the Federal Ministry of Health signed an agreement with the Government of Sweden (through the Swedish International Development Agency – Sida) on the work plan for a joint project on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in Ethiopia, 2013-2015. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Hon Dr Kesetebirhan Admasu, Ethiopian Minister of Health, at the African Union Conference Center during the historic International Conference on Family Planning.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr Kesetebirhan appreciated the support of development partners in the Government’s efforts to reduce maternal and newborn mortality. He further expressed his satisfaction at how the partnership is supporting the Government’s initiative, with the Government in the driving seat. “With such country ownership and continued support of partners, the achievement of MDG 5 is not out of reach,” he underscored.
WHO Representative, Dr Pierre M’pele speaks at launch of joint project on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in Ethiopia,
Also speaking at the event, WHO Representative, Dr Pierre M’pele recalled that Ethiopia has already achieved MDG 4 two years ahead of schedule by reducing child mortality rates, and affirmed that the joint program comes “At the right time to strengthen the partnership of the UN agencies delivering as one and Sida with the Federal Ministry of Health to work together to achieve MDG 5.”
In its endeavor to maximize the impact of its support to the Government of Ethiopia, the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) is working with the principle of Delivering as One and strengthening joint efforts of the UN agencies in advancing priority areas within the development agenda. Both the Government of Ethiopia and the UNCT recognize maternal and newborn health as one of the top priority areas that require the concerted efforts of all stakeholders in the few years remaining of the MDGs. This work plan for the Sida/H4+ grant contributes to filling gaps in the current joint efforts by UN agencies in supporting the FMOH for implementation of the National Road Map for Accelerating Reduction of Maternal and Newborn Mortality and Morbidity, and thereby pave the way for Ethiopia to meet MDG 5 of by 2015, reducing maternal mortality ratio and increasing access to reproductive health.
This blog post is extracted from World Health Organization Ethiopia Country Office media release.
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