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Poverty & Hunger

Federal Democratic Republic

of

Ethiopia

In the early years of the 21st Century

Description: Description: Ethiopia

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Ethiopia in the early years of the 21st Century.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false.   No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE

Students

If you are looking for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this page and others to see which aspects of poverty are of particular interest to you.  You might be interested in exploring the relationship between distribution of labor and per-capita GDP, for example.  Perhaps your paper could focus on life expectancy or infant mortality.  Other factors of interest might be unemployment, literacy, access to basic services, etc.  On the other hand, you might choose to include some of the possible outgrowths of poverty such as Human Trafficking, Street Children, or even Prostitution.  There is a lot to the subject of Poverty.  Scan other countries as well as this one.  Draw comparisons between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions.  Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources that are available on-line.

Teachers

Check out some of the Resources for Teachers attached to this website.

*** Extreme Weather ***

Ethiopia has been experiencing extreme weather conditions, including droughts and floods. The northern regions of Tigray and Amhara have been hit by severe droughts, causing the deaths of more than 50 people and 4,000 cattle. Ethiopia has already endured 10 major droughts since 1980. The average annual temperature in Ethiopia has been increasing by 0.37 degrees Celsius per decade, with the majority of warming occurring during the second half of the 1990s. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) have reported that climate change and increasingly extreme weather events have caused a surge in natural disasters over the past 50 years, disproportionately impacting poorer countries. – Microsoft BING Copilot

World Bank Climate & Develoment Reports

Ethiopia Country Climate and Development Report, World Bank Group, 27 Feb 2024

hdl.handle.net/10986/41114

[accessed 9 Dec 2024]

The Ethiopia Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) aims to support Ethiopia’s plans to achieve its development goals within the context of a changing climate. By quantifying the likely economic impacts of climate change on the economy between now and 2050, the report highlights the measures that the government of Ethiopia (GoE) needs to prioritize to prepare for these impacts and adapt to them most effectively, with a particular focus on actions that should be taken throughout the remainder of this decade. Opportunities for low-carbon growth as a co-benefit of development programs are also examined.

 

*** ARCHIVES ***

The World Factbook - Ethiopia

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA

www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html

[accessed 28 December 2020]

World Factbook website has moved to ---> www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ethiopia/

[accessed 5 January 2021]

Ethiopia has the lowest level of income-inequality in Africa and one of the lowest in the world, with a Gini coefficient comparable to that of the Scandinavian countries. Yet despite progress toward eliminating extreme poverty, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, due both to rapid population growth and a low starting base. Changes in rainfall associated with world-wide weather patterns resulted in the worst drought in 30 years in 2015-16, creating food insecurity for millions of Ethiopians.

GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,200 (2017 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 72.7%

industry: 7.4%

services: 19.9% (2013 est.)

Unemployment rate: 17.5% (2012 est.)

Population below poverty line: 29.6% (2014 est.)

Maternal mortality rate: 401 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 35.8 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.5 years

Drinking water source: improved: total: 68.9% of population

Physicians density: 0.1 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access: improved: total: 14.7% of population

Electricity access: electrification - total population: 42.9% (2016)

The Borgen Project - Ethiopia

borgenproject.org/category/ethiopia/

[accessed 2 February 2021]

The Borgen Project works with U.S. leaders to utilize the United States’ platform behind efforts toward improving living conditions for the world’s poor.  It is an innovative, national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy.  It believes that leaders of the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global poverty. From ending segregation to providing women with the right to vote, nearly every wrong ever righted in history was achieved through advocacy. The Borgen Project addresses the big picture, operating at the political level advancing policies and programs that improve living conditions for those living on less than $1 per day.

~ Literacy In Ethiopia: What You Need To Know

borgenproject.org/literacy-in-ethiopia/

~ Women And Manufacturing In Ethiopia

borgenproject.org/manufacturing-in-ethiopia/

~ How Ethnic Violence In Ethiopia Deepens Poverty

borgenproject.org/ethnic-violence-in-ethiopia-increasing-poverty/

~ Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program

borgenproject.org/productive-safety-net-program/

~ The One Wash National Programme

borgenproject.org/the-one-wash-national-programme/

~ Innovations In Poverty Eradication In Ethiopia

borgenproject.org/innovations-in-poverty-eradication-in-ethiopia/

Conflict, climate change, and COVID-19 drive extreme hunger

Oxfam, 9 July 2021

www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/conflict-climate-change-and-covid-19-drive-extreme-hunger/

[accessed 19 July 2021]

The effects of conflict, COVID-19, and climate change have intensified the global hunger crisis.

ETHIOPIA -- Fantu Gezay,* 51, is a farmer and single mother of six children living in Raya Azebo woreda in the Tigray region. In addition to growing her own crops, she earned money by renting her land to other farmers for a living. When fighting broke out for three consecutive days in November, Fantu and her children were forced to flee into the highlands. They hid in the mountains with no access to food or water.

‘‘The conflict erupted when farmers were about to harvest the produce left from the locust invasion,” she says. “However, whatever remained from the locust was destroyed by the war.”

Gezay lost her home and possessions as well as her income. Most farmers in the region are dealing with disruptions to their work, including the farmers who use to rent from her.

Hunger Hotspots - FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity - March to July 2021 outlook

Food and Agriculture Org of the UN FAO, World Food Program WFP, 2021

www.fightfoodcrises.net/fileadmin/user_upload/fightfoodcrises/doc/resources/Hunger-Hotspots-March-2021.pdf

[accessed 30 May 2021]

COUNTRIES WITH CATASTROPHIC SITUATIONS: FAMINE-LIKE CONDITIONS OR FACTORS LEADING TO A RISK OF FAMINE -- In Ethiopia, the conflict in Tigray is further aggravating worrisome food security projections that estimate about 2.6 million to be facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels between January and June 2021. This results from a combination of conflict, macro-economic challenges, weather extremes and desert locusts.

Livelihoods for Resilience

CARE

care.org/our-work/food-and-nutrition/markets/livelihoodsforresilience/

[accessed 7 January 2021]

Livelihoods for Resilience (L4R) builds on the best practices and successes of its predecessor program, GRAD, reaching 97,900 households in Ethiopia who are part of the Productive Safety Net Program with the generous support of USAID’s Feed the Future. L4R is strengthening the capacities of women, men, and youth to build resilient livelihoods by empowering them with improved agricultural and financial skills, access to loans and startup capital, market information, and high-quality inputs (such as fertilizer, veterinarian products, and tools). The project will also help households make forward-looking and informed decisions about their livelihoods, adapt to changes and opportunities, and effectively manage risk. Targeted communities are also strengthened through the establishment of Village Economic and Social Associations (VESAs), and trainings in financial literacy, gender equity, nutrition, and climate-change resilience strategies. Livelihoods for Resilience also helps households enroll in the government’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) to access microfinance, improve on- and off-farm productivity, and improve links to markets. The program promotes women’s empowerment, improved nutritional practices, and climate change adaptation strategies. CARE leads the L4R consortium that includes REST, ORDA, CRS/MCS, Agri Service Ethiopia, and SNV. The project is implemented in 16 districts in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR.

Action Against Hunger - Ethiopia

www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/ethiopia

[accessed 21 March 2021]

Though Ethiopia’s economy has grown quickly in recent years, many of the country’s most vulnerable citizens have not experienced the benefits of this financial upturn and remain dependent on international aid. Owing to instability in bordering countries, particularly South Sudan, Ethiopia remains one of Africa’s leading host country for refugees.

Ethiopia experienced positive socio-political developments in 2019. At the same time, protracted and acute crises continued to disrupt the lives of a significant and growing number of people, causing widespread food and nutrition insecurity and forced displacement. Natural disasters, epidemics and livestock diseases further drove increased humanitarian needs.

In 2019, Ethiopia hosted 2.6 million internally displaced people and nearly 700,000 refugees. 39% of people had access to improved water sources and just 7% to safe sanitation. 8.5 million people faced severe acute food insecurity and, among children under five, 37% were chronically malnourished and 7% were acutely malnourished.

The World Bank in Ethiopia

www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview

[accessed 18 April 2021]

The World Bank is helping to fight poverty and improve living standards in Ethiopia. Goals include promoting rapid economic growth and improving service delivery.

Looking back a few years …

Advameg, Inc., Encyclopedia of the Nations

www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Ethiopia-ECONOMY.html

[accessed 28 December 2020]

To break the cycle of famine, the government has promoted extension services and fertilizers in the hope that farmers could realize their potential and poverty would be reduced. After the border war with Eritrea ended in 2000, however, bumper crops were offset by farmers' inability to find markets for their goods. The progress in the country's economic fortunes that began in the 1990s was largely quashed by the 1998–2000 war and a sharp decline in international coffee prices. Nonetheless, new building projects were due to begin in the early 2000s; dams, a new airport building, and a $15 million sugar-processing factory numbered among them. Reforms are needed in the financial sector, telecommunications, land ownership, and a cumbersome bureaucracy.

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