Ethiopia

Concern’s emergency response in Ethiopia includes lifesaving nutrition and health services, cash transfers, distributions of essential household items, and improving water systems in disaster- and conflict-affected areas. In 2023, we responded to emergencies in multiple regions — including drought and flooding in the Somali region, increased malnutrition in Tigray and Amhara, and several cholera outbreaks.

During the recent crisis in Tigray, we provided both static and mobile health and nutrition facilities. In the Amhara region, we are currently providing essential support, particularly to children under the age of five, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and people with disabilities. We also work to improve access to education with a sensitivity to crisis settings.

In Ethiopia, Concern works to treat and prevent malnutrition and strengthen local healthcare systems, so as to assist in the reduction of mortality and morbidity rates while improving the health security for the most vulnerable groups in the country (particularly women and children). In recent years, we’ve responded to both conflict-driven health challenges and climate-related spikes in hunger and malnutrition.

In 2023, we launched a new program to reduce child wasting in the Mandera Triangle, working closely with colleagues in Kenya and Somalia to reach some of the most remote areas and communities. We are continuing this work in 2024, along with an ongoing health project in partnership with UNICEF.

Concern has employed the Graduation model of poverty reduction to great effect in Ethiopia, along with several programs that expand on this model and adapt it to the unique circumstances of different communities. Building on the success of our initial ReGRADE programme (an acronym based on “REsilience, GRADuation, and Evidence”), the ReGRADE II project, launched in 2023, integrates community-based climate resilience, the Graduation model, and natural resource management to help families in climate-struck regions improve their livelihoods. 

Additional projects, including the climate-sensitive Green Graduation program and a livelihoods initiative focused on female participants, are estimated to reach a combined total of nearly 97,000 people.