Humanitarian aid for children and families in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, over 28.6 million people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance due to multiple overlapping humanitarian crises. According to the humanitarian response plan, over 4.5 million Internally Displaced People (IDPs) required humanitarian assistance in 2023. The HRP 2023 document clearly indicates that of the total population, 20 million people are estimated to be experiencing food insecurity and 4.9 million need life-sustaining protection services. Among the people in need of protection services, 56% are children, 25% are women, and 17% are people living with disabilities.

Shockingly, man-made and natural crises have led children and their families to be displaced and denied access to basic rights. Children remain at risk of protection concerns and are exposed to different forms of exploitation resulting from the ongoing conflict and climate shocks. Moreover, Girls and young women face multiple challenges due to hindering socio-cultural attitudes, lack of institutions supporting them and limited political will. As a result, girls and young women suffer from limited access to basic rights such as education and sexual and reproductive health. Moreover, they become victims of child marriage, trafficking, and sexual and labour exploitation. We seek to accelerate progress on stopping child exploitation by expanding knowledge through research, catalysing collaborations, and influencing change. 

Ethiopian Joint Response Project is a three-year project (2024 -2026)  that works to protect children from different exploitations and provide life-saving support in the humanitarian setting. The project is implemented across various regions of Ethiopia including Dubuluk (Borena zone of Oromia regional state), Gidan (North Wollo zone) and Ziqualla (Wag Himra zone)  of Amhara regional state.   

Life-saving support in the humanitarian setting

The overall objective of the Ethiopia Joint Response is to provide complementary multi-sectoral and integrated life-saving humanitarian support to conflict and/or drought affected people in need - both displaced and non-displaced, in the target locations, prioritising the most vulnerable population, and facilitate early recovery and resilience of communities, while ensuring that that gender, protection, accountability to affected populations (AAP), and prevention from sexual exploitation abuse and harassment (PSEAH) are well integrated across the different services. The EJR will contribute to system strengthening by re-establishing and strengthening response mechanisms in the Protection and Health sectors. The EJR directly targets 321,882 people in need.