Ethiopia
Despite significant improvement in poverty levels in the last two decades in Ethiopia, stability is yet to be fully realised in terms of economic growth
Published onEthiopia is currently ranked 173 out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), with almost 31% of its population living below the International Poverty Line ($1.90 per day) and an equal 31% unable to meet daily calorie requirements.
Schools are currently closed, making it impossible for our school feeding programme to operate. School buildings have been turned into temporary shelters for internally displaced people and it is likely that many of the children we normally serve (there are 24,320 children enrolled in our feeding programme from 36 schools in Ethiopia) are amongst those seeking shelter after having to flee their homes.
Life in Ethiopia
Since November 2020, Tigray (a region in the north-east of Ethiopia) has been in the midst of the greatest famine the world has seen for a decade. The cause of this famine is not drought or failed crops, this famine has been caused by war.
The Special Forces of the Tigray Regional government are fighting the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) who are being aided by the Ethiopian Federal Police, regional police, and gendarmerie forces (a local military unit with law enforcement duties) of the neighbouring Amhara and Afar Regions with the involvement of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF).
The conflict is a complicated web of competing parties and politics; however, the main victims of the conflict are undoubtedly the people of Tigray. More than 150,000 destitute and traumatised people – including children who have lost their parents – have sought refuge in the region’s capital, Mekelle.
The country is currently seeing the efforts of the last several decades, in bringing food security to Ethiopia and Tigray in particular – being wiped out amidst a wave of violence, destruction and human rights abuses.
Mary's Meals in Ethiopia
We have been providing Mary’s Meals in Ethiopia since 2017. We work with a trusted local partner to provide meals to marginalised and disadvantaged children in the impoverished Tigray region in the north-east of the country, close to the Eritrean border. Tigray is a semi-arid region in the north-east of the country and is prone to frequent droughts. This is a main cause of food insecurity as 83% of the population are subsistence farmers.
The Tigray region has been torn apart by major conflict since November 2020, leaving close to two million people displaced from their homes, making it more challenging for us to reach the hungry children we normally serve, many of whom are now without homes.
Working closely with a local partner, Mary’s Meals is providing daily meals to more than 30,000 internally displaced people at 22 centres around Mekelle.
- When did we start working in Ethiopia?
We have been working in Ethiopia since 2017
- How many children do we feed in Ethiopia?
Mary's Meals currently feeds more than 30,000 internally displaced people in Ethiopia
- What meal is provided?
Kinche (cracked wheat) and chickpeas, or maize and beans
- Where are we based/where do we operate?
Tigray region, in the north-east of Ethiopia
- Capital City
Addis Ababa
- Population
114.9 million (World Bank 2020)
- Currency
Ethiopian Birr (ETB Br)