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Addis Ababa – The Government of Japan will provide a new humanitarian assistance package worth about USD 16.5 million (over 650 million Birr) to Ethiopia through its partnerships with various international organizations.

Japan has been one of the key donors for African Development, particularly through the TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) Initiative.

As a follow-up to the commitments made at TICAD7 in Yokohama, Japan in August 2019, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current humanitarian crisis in Tigray, Japanese humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, to be implemented in Japanese Fiscal Year (JFY) 2020/2021, is focused on four areas. Its breakdown is as follows:

(1) Food Security, Livelihood and Nutrition: Japan will provide USD 2.5 million to the FAO to support the production of about 300,000MT of crops, pulses and vegetables and to improve the milk-trading business for women’s groups in order to enhance the livelihoods of 120,000 IDPs, refugees and host communities in Oromia and Somali, as well as about USD 0.6 million to the UNDP for livelihood recovery for 13,200 people in Oromia and SNNPR. USD 1.5 million will also be provided to the WFP to prevent and treat acute malnutrition for over 42,000 children aged 6-59 months and pregnant and lactating women in Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, SNNPR and Tigray.

(2) Health, WASH and Education: In order to meet acute needs, Japan will provide about USD 8.7 million to UNHCR, UNICEF, UNOPS and GPE. This assistance will be needed to enhance access to primary health care and education, improve water and sanitation facilities, and raise the nutrition level of IDPs, refugees and host communities in 10 regions, excluding Harari. It is estimated this assistance will benefit about 670,000 people.

(3) Environment and Disaster Prevention: In order to contribute to the restoration and establishment of a resilient, safe, and sustainable environment and to enhance disaster resilience, Japan will provide about USD 1.9 million to the ILO and UN-HABITAT, through technical support for Solid Waste Management in Hawassa and Sidama, and for public water works in Jijiga and Kebribeyah, Somali region, as well as capacity development of the relevant government authorities.

(4) Peace Building: Japan will provide about USD 1.4 million to the UNDP and UNESCO-IICBA to prevent violent extremism and its resurgence and to promote peace building in Ethiopia, and the rest of Africa, through peace education and capacity development of the Ethiopian International Peace Support Training Institute (PSTI). These assistance programmes are part of Japan’s New Approach for Peace and Stability (NAPSA) agreed upon at TICAD7.

For media inquiries, please contact Dejene Sakoume at the Embassy of Japan via dejene.sakoume@ad.mofa.go.jp and +251-11-667-1166 (mobile: +251-91-175-3486).