Ethiopia

4.5 million internally displaced persons

15.8 million people suffering from severe food insecurity

21.4 million people need humanitarian assistance

60,000 people helped

Ethiopia, the second most populous country on the African continent, is facing a major humanitarian crisis rooted in a combination of factors.

Past and ongoing conflicts affecting parts of the country, recurring climate disasters (droughts and floods), resource destruction, and the economic crisis have plunged 15.8 million people into severe food insecurity. This has led to a prevalence of malnutrition far above emergency humanitarian thresholds, particularly affecting children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women. Furthermore, the Tigray conflict, which took place between 2020 and 2022, resulted in unprecedented infrastructure destruction in much of the northern part of the country. Other active armed conflicts continue to impact basic services, particularly access to clean water and healthcare. As a direct consequence, since September 2022, the country has been plagued by the longest cholera epidemic in its history, affecting the entire country.

The security and climate context affecting the country, and more broadly the entire sub-region, is leading to massive population displacements: there are 4.5 million internally displaced people and almost 1 million refugees from neighboring countries. These displaced families often find themselves in a situation of extreme privation, which host populations and local authorities struggle to remedy for lack of resources.

Faced with these combined shocks hitting the country, the humanitarian community estimates that 21.4 million Ethiopians need an emergency humanitarian response, which far exceeds the response capacities currently mobilized for this crisis.

123.4 million inhabitants
176st out of 191 on the Human Development Index

Mission
opened in 2024
Team 4 international staff
22 national staff
Budget 2.45 M€

In 2024, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams are focusing their interventions in the Tigray region, in the Ashea area on the border with Eritrea. This locality was chosen due to the impact of the Tigray conflict on the population, particularly in terms of food insecurity and malnutrition, while access to healthcare, clean water, and resources remains severely insufficient.

The humanitarian response provided by SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL, in partnership with Mums for Mums, the Ethiopian Institute for Peace, and Médecins du Monde – France, is structured around three main areas of focus, namely:

Improve access to basic services through the rehabilitation of water access infrastructure and health centers.

Combat the prevalence of malnutrition and gender-based violence through screening and referral activities within communities, as well as by providing unconditional cash transfers targeting the most vulnerable households.

Promote the reintegration of former combatants and individuals affected by the conflict into civil society through a program supporting access to income-generating activities.

This strategy is complemented by SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL’s participation in a Rapid Response Mechanism initiated by a consortium of 13 international NGOs, aimed at providing emergency assistance in the event of a new crisis anywhere on Ethiopian territory.

Partners

Institutional and private financial partners: CDCS, GFFO, ECHO

Operational partners : Médecins du Monde (MdM), Ethiopian Institute for Peace (EIP) and Mums for Mums (MFM)

Should you have any questions, please contact Philippe Bonnet