Ethiopia

Extreme weather patterns, locust swarms and epidemics have increased the humanitarian need in the country.

Food insecurity and population displacements caused by climate change and conflict continue to increase the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable communities.

Violence between communities, which flared up in 2017, continues in several regions of Ethiopia and displacement resulting from conflict is rising. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries are living in Ethiopia, adding further strain.

Months of extreme weather and climate shocks, including droughts, floods, and most recently, swarms of desert locusts, are destroying crops and homes, gravely affecting communities and their livelihoods.

The country is now dealing with the new threat of Covid-19, which further threatens the economic situation for communities and has put immense pressure on the country’s already fragile infrastructure.

“If they lose their harvests this season, they will be vulnerable until the next rainy season, which is now becoming unpredictable because of climatic change.”

Hajir Maalim, Action Against Hunger’s Regional Director in East Africa

Country facts

109.2m
Ethiopia has a population of more than 100 million people.
173
Ethiopia ranks 173rd out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index.
1.8m
In Ethiopia, 1.8 million are internally displaced as a result of conflict.

Action Against Hunger’s work in Ethiopia

We’ve been operating in Ethiopia since 1985, supporting communities to prepare and recover from severe episodes of drought and economic instability. Our teams work with host communities and refugees mainly from neighbouring South Sudan.

We continue to:

strengthen our assistance to South Sudanese refugees in the Gambella and Benishangul Gumuz regions
meet the immediate needs of people affected by the prolonged food crisis
restore the livelihoods of at risk populations
strengthen the resilience of agricultural communities to better cope with climate shocks through risk mitigation activities
scale up our work to address and respond to the coronavirus pandemic
monitor the destruction caused by locust swarms and address the immediate and long-term needs of communities

Our reach

957,819
We reached 957,819 people in Ethiopia through our programmes in 2019.
615
We have 615 staff based in Oromia, Somali, Amhara, Gambella, Benishangul and Gumuz Dire Dawa.
1985
We started working in Ethiopia in 1985.

Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, we’re collaborating with government officials to ensure that health workers and nutrition officers at our treatment centres are trained in how to prevent Covid-19. In refugee camps, we continue to treat children with life-threatening hunger. Community health volunteers are identifying and treating the severely malnourished children. Life-saving services are ongoing despite the challenges caused by the pandemic.