Humanitarian Response to Conflict in Ethiopia – Save the Children 2022

February 2022 - The conflict in northern Ethiopia is well into its second year and has given rise to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. An estimated 9.4 million people in the three conflict-affected states currently require humanitarian assistance including up to 90% of the population of the Tigray region. Displacement disruption of livelihoods and constraints on humanitarian access have left at least 400 000 people facing famine conditions and human rights abuses including widespread sexual violence have marked the conflict since its outset. With GAC’s support Save the Children addresses the essential health water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and protection needs of conflict-affected populations in Ethiopia’s Afar region. Project activities include: (1) providing material and technical support to local health facilities and operating mobile health units in hard-to-reach areas; (2) restoring damaged water and sanitation facilities serving internally displaced persons sites and host communities; and (3) training health providers and local authorities to better address critical protection needs. The project also includes a development component through which Save the Children addresses the longer-term sustainability of the above health WASH and protection outcomes through (4) system strengthening activities; and addresses gender inequity faced by women and girls through and (5) improved sexual and reproductive health and rights and sexual and gender-based violence services and responses.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved access to healthcare; (2) improved access to safe water and sanitation; and (3) increased availability of critical protection services for displaced and other conflict-affected populations in Ethiopia’s Afar region. The longer term outcomes for this project include: (4) improved capacity of local authorities to provide essential health WASH and protection services; and (5) reduced gender inequality faced by women in the target communities. The expected ultimate outcome is reduced suffering increased and maintained human dignity and lives saved among crisis-affected girls boys women and men from IDP and host population in Brahele Dallol and Erebti woredas in Afar region Ethiopia.