Ethiopia Appeal
Humanitarian Action for Children
UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps support the agency’s work as it
provides conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition,
education, health and protection services. Return to main appeal page.
Ethiopia snapshot
Appeal highlights
Some 8.39 million people in Ethiopia, including 4.53 million children, require humanitarian assistance; 7 million people lack access to safe drinking water; and an estimated 555,000 children need treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM). In addition, 1.8 million people, including 972,000 children, are displaced; and Ethiopia is hosting over 735,200 refugees, making it the second largest refugee-hosting country in Africa.
In the context of the rapid social, economic and political transformation taking place in Ethiopia, children and women are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of inter-communal conflict, drought, flooding and disease outbreaks, including cholera and vaccine-derived polio. Food insecurity, lack of access to safe water, malnutrition and the high numbers of out-of-school children are expected to persist and compound existing needs. In addition, refugees and internally displaced people, particularly women and girls, require protection from gender-based violence, exploitation and abuse.
Ethiopia's pivotal geographic position in the Horn of Africa and its established migration routes are amplifying the risk of disease outbreaks. The current resources to respond to the humanitarian needs are inadequate across all sectors, particularly education; and the limited number of partners, challenging topography, pockets of insecurity and access constraints are hampering the provision of humanitarian assistance.
Key planned results for 2020
459,565 children aged 6 to 59 months affected by SAM admitted for treatment
2,650,000 people accessing a sufficient quantity of safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene
96,250 children reached with mental health and psychosocial support services
Funding requirements for 2020
Country strategy
In 2020, UNICEF will deliver life-saving services for children and families displaced by conflict and affected by climatic shocks, disease outbreaks, natural hazards and malnutrition in Ethiopia.
Given the chronic/ protracted nature of the needs, UNICEF will apply multi-sectoral systems-building approaches and cash-based solutions using its extensive footprint in Ethiopia and its strong capacities for community outreach to build resilience and ensure durable solutions. Integrated services will be delivered through common platforms, cross-referrals and communication for development strategies, capitalizing on UNICEF’s field presence and leveraging its sector co-leadership roles in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), nutrition, education and child protection.
UNICEF will prioritize partner resources and target in an equitable manner. Resources will be invested in mitigating and preventing violence, including gender-based violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect; and all programmes will be delivered with consideration for gender. Protection will be mainstreamed across sectors to enhance systems for children and their families; and strengthen reporting mechanisms for the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. UNICEF will also establish mechanisms – including multi-agency community-based feedback and complaint mechanisms – to strengthen its accountability to affected populations. Efforts to meet the needs of people with disabilities in humanitarian action are currently limited.
Programme targets
Find out more about UNICEF's work
Highlights
Humanitarian Action is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate to realize the rights of every child. This edition of Humanitarian Action for Children – UNICEF’s annual humanitarian fundraising appeal – describes the ongoing crises affecting children in Ethiopia; the strategies that we are using to respond to these situations; and the donor support that is essential in this response.
