Why are we in Ethiopia? Ethiopia is a country particularly vulnerable to weather-related shocks, with over 80% of the rural population dependent on rain-fed agriculture. It faces the added challenge of hosting almost one million refugees from other countries.
The most recent Human Development Index places Ethiopia 173 out of 189 countries, despite ongoing overall improvements in reducing poverty since 2000. A significant proportion of the population also remains vulnerable to climatic and other shocks. Ethiopia is still recovering from its worst protracted drought in decades (2016 and 2017), exacerbated by simultaneous internal conflicts. Childhood mortality and stunting, however, have declined substantially in the past seven years but large regional differences still persist.
Programme impact
Our country programmes in Ethiopia impacted 573,000 people directly and over 1.8 million people indirectly in six regions of the country and in the capital city Addis Ababa.
Youth programmes
Country strategic plan
In 2019, Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ travelled to Ethiopia to mark Concern Worldwide’s 50th anniversary and showcase the work being done by Concern in the country. Nationwide presenter Mary Kennedy was joined by our Director of International Programmes Anne O’Mahony as she visited the province of Wollo to examine the impact of donations made by the Irish public to Concern in response to the Ethiopian famine 35 years ago.
In addition, the crew spent time in Addis Ababa to learn more about Concern’s vocational skills programmes. This special edition of Nationwide was broadcast on RTÉ One in January 2019.
We are working hard to combat suffering and build resilience in Ethiopia. We are doing this by establishing programmes which will improve livelihoods, tackle gender equality and increase humanitarian response.
