Working in Crises and Conflict

U.S. food aid helps vulnerable families withstand crises like droughts

USAID

Stability in Ethiopia is important not only to the people of Ethiopia, but also to the region as a whole. USAID encourages government and civil society to collaborate on improving conflict management policies and practices at the local, regional and national levels. USAID also ensures that women are empowered to play a role in peace building.

At the state level, USAID efforts increase focus on knowledge and skills essential to improve conflict management and sustainable development, such as land use, planning and natural resource management. At the regional level, USAID promotes efforts to manage conflict and promote development along state boundaries. USAID also focuses on inclusive, conflict- sensitive humanitarian responses and development planning to reduce local tensions and violence.

Trainings at universities have reduced the number of conflicts on campuses, resulting in the Ministry of Federal Affairs incorporating peer mediation into a peace building strategy that is now being implemented at 22 federal universities. Improved relationships between ethnic groups and clans have reduced localized violence—specifically livestock rustling—and increased the sharing of grazing lands and water points.

Building Resilience

USAID collaborates with the Government of Ethiopia, international organizations, U.N. agencies, and other donors to respond to disasters in a timely manner and increase Ethiopians’ ability to withstand the effects of shocks. Since 2009, USAID has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to build the capacity of the government’s Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector to prepare for and respond to disasters. USAID is also a major contributor to the Productive Safety Net Program—the main component of the Government of Ethiopia’s food security program—which aims to improve among chronically food insecure households.

Humanitarian Assistance

In anticipation of worsening humanitarian conditions, USAID began pre-positioning food assistance in the eastern Horn of Africa in late 2010 and providing significant humanitarian assistance in early 2011. Following below-average rainfall in spring 2011 in the Horn of Africa, food security sharply deteriorated. USAID assistance includes food aid, emergency relief supplies, health interventions including therapeutic feeding for malnutrition, protection for vulnerable populations, and water and sanitation improvements. 

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