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Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).

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ETHIOPIA

FY 1998 Development Fund for Africa	..........	$48,285,000
FY 1998 P.L. 480 Title II	..........	$24,453,000
FY 1998 P.L. 480 Title III	..........	$9,900,000

Introduction

The image of Ethiopia as a socialist country, under the rule of a military government, beset by starvation is a thing of the past. The constitutionally based Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (GFDRE) is leading a relief to development transition -- the heart of President Clinton's Greater Horn of Africa Initiative (GHAI). The nation is on the verge of attaining sustained economic growth after enduring two decades of economic disintegration and social turmoil under the former Marxist regime. Located in the center of the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is a strong ally of the United States and a dependable partner in support of many of our regional and continental interests. Ethiopia continues to be a stable bulwark against the forces of violent Islamic fundamentalism in Sudan and Somalia, and has become a model of peace and relative stability in the region. The United States. has contributed significantly to helping Ethiopia achieve the progress already made. We can continue to do so if we maintain a strong partnership and if both food and dollar resources can be made available in a flexible manner.

The Development Challenge

Under the direction of one of the most dynamic leaders in Africa, major economic and political restructuring has taken place in Ethiopia. Individuals, families and communities throughout the country are benefiting from greater social, economic and political freedom, and are improving their lives without fear of war or political and economic persecution. Two years of good rains and aggressive extension programs have resulted in another record harvest this year, which will bring Ethiopia closer to attaining a minimal level of food self-sufficiency. Growth of the GDP of over 7% in the past year has been accompanied by a reduction in inflation to below 2%. Extremely impressive success with stabilization measures has been followed by strong adjustment and liberalization. This success, however, is against a base of extreme poverty and dismally low economic and social indicators and so this success is fragile. With a per capita domestic product (GDP) of $120, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

With 85% of its 57 million people in rural areas, agriculture determines the fate of Ethiopia. Production is increasing and food is moving to the markets. The "hungry season," which historically occurs before the harvest, was absent this year. The huge price swings, which benefit neither the consumer nor the producer, have flattened out; a farmer can now rationally plan his or her crop and a mother can now plan her family's food supply.

The GFDRE is aggressively moving to take control of the country's destiny. A far reaching and bold Civil Service Reform Program was unveiled in March 1996. A long awaited food security strategy was presented at the Consultative Group meetings in December 1996, together with first drafts of Health and Education sector development programs. These government prepared sector programs have led to more detailed consultations with donors. The ongoing USAID programs in health and education are very much in tune with these strategies.

Relations between the United States and Ethiopian governments remain strong, and we share mutual interests on most regional and international issues. Differences in our views are dealt with in a frank and generally constructive manner. U.S. government representatives regularly monitor and offer constructive criticism on key aspects of the political and human rights environment in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has strongly supported and seen value in the GHAI. Together with Uganda and Eritrea,Ethiopia has led efforts to reshape and bring new life to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body of Horn countries which seek to form a development alliance to combat conflict and promote development in the region. The fruits of these efforts culminated in major donor commitment to revitalize the organization in November 1996. Ethiopia's leadership has been active in regional efforts to seek real solutions to the recent crisis in Eastern Zaire; promote reconciliation in Somalia; pressure Sudan in reaction to that country's failure to adhere to UN resolutions; and more recently, aggressively oppose locally based terrorist groups.

The United States continues to enjoy an increasing trade surplus with Ethiopia, whose imports continue to grow more rapidly than its limited export base. As the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, it is a potentially valuable market for the United States. The number of American companies represented in Ethiopia has doubled over the last two years from around 40 to 80.

Other Donors

The donor community provided an estimated $650 million in grant and loan assistance to Ethiopia during FY 1996. During this same period the GFDRE completed prolonged negotiations with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for a new multiyear Policy Framework Paper and an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility agreement. This set the stage for a long delayed Consultative Group Meeting in December 1996 and renewal of debt rescheduling at the Paris Club. The large donor community in Addis Ababa continues to be supportive of the government's generally robust economic performance. Donor coordination remains strong, but more could be done to establish a true partnership among all the actors in Ethiopia's development: the government, the private sector, the donors and the non-government organizations (NGOs). The Organization of African Unity and the Economic Commission for Africa are located in Addis Ababa. Both institutions launched major "revitalization" initiatives in 1996 to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

The United States has been the largest bilateral donor to Ethiopia in recent years, but ranked third among bilateral donors in 1995 behind Italy and Germany in ODA disbursements. The African Development Bank, the European Union and the World Bank provide the largest share of assistance. Other major bilateral donors include Japan, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Britain and Canada.

FY 1998 Program

Our program supports four of the five USAID worldwide priorities. We do not have a separate environmental strategic objective, which would be beyond our capacity to manage, but we do encourage and fund appropriate natural resource management practices in agriculture. USAID's assistance strategy for Ethiopia is consistent with the goals of the GHAI: promoting food security and preventing conflict.

Food Security: We have made good progress in integrating our development assistance and food aid programs to promote food security within a changing food security environment. The programs help to ensure a minimum level of food availability, as a basic need and as a critical base for the government's and farmer's ability to focus on other essential aspects of long term development. NGO implemented Title II Food for Work activities, for example, build the rural infrastructure (feeder roads, small dams, terracing on steep hillsides) necessary in marginal areas. Title III and DFA resources focus on the availability of domestically produced food grains. This means not only increasing agricultural production, but making sure it gets to the household and is consumed. USAID programs supported inputs and policy changes which laid the basis for this to happen by deregulating transportation, dismantling parastatal monopolies in basic food grains, and liberalizing input (e.g. fertilizer) and output (movement of grains) markets. This has helped farmers throughout the country to take advantage of good rains and better inputs to achieve two successive record harvests. More families are now able to feed themselves, rather than relying on food aid.

Conflict Prevention: USAID support early in the transition focused on a democratic transition and helped lay the foundations for a stable society. Assistance was provided to ensure that successive elections and the creation of basic institutional structures -- the constitution and a national parliament -- proceeded smoothly and in a timely manner. The FY 1998 program moves towards governance issues. Through training and technical assistance USAID will support Ethiopia's Civil Service Reform program, primarily by strengthening the budgetary and financial processes, both at the center and in the regions. In addition, support to and through local NGOs will broaden the base of civic society representation in development.

The approaches to the GHAI goals above are also supported by USAID activities to build healthier, better educated and planned Ethiopian families. Non-project funding, linked to policy changes, provides budgetary support which allows the GFDRE to carry out activities such as rebuilding primary schools and primary health care facilities. Project assistance provides technical assistance, training and critical inputs to build local capacity to plan and implement programs. It trains teachers and health workers to provide better, more appropriate educational, health and family planning services.

Agency Goal: Encouraging Broad-based Economic Growth

In spite of the image popularized during two major and several smaller famines in the last 20 years, Ethiopia is a country which is capable of feeding itself and producing a surplus of food. One of USAID's strategic objectives is to help the country realize this potential. The current situation (and that for the foreseeable future) of Ethiopia's budget will not allow the government to realistically entertain the possibility of meeting its food needs through commercial imports. The only viable alternatives therefore are to increase production, and in special circumstances, resort to food aid to address its food needs. Back to back record harvests of 1995 and 1996 have demonstrated that small farmer production, supported by reliable supplies of agricultural inputs, credit, and market incentives can grow enough food to feed the people of Ethiopia. Economic growth in the short and medium-term based on agriculture, must lead in the longer term to more diversified growth built on a solid base of physical and human infrastructure.

USAID and the GFDRE have chosen to focus initial efforts in agriculture on promoting basic food security, increasing the production of those most heavily produced and consumed. The recently released GFDRE Food Security Strategy paper focuses on increasing the availability, access to and utilization of food, as well as on maintaining emergency response capability for inevitable years of poor agricultural production in the future. USAID assistance has encouraged liberalized agricultural input and output marketing. We will continue to dialogue with our GFDRE and NGO partners to identify, within the framework of the strategy, what more we can do to improve producer revenues while maintaining and even lowering consumer prices. Continuing USAID assistance (both DFA and Title III) will be targeted on helping Ethiopia achieve sustainable economic development and attain a level of food security that will reduce the need for outside emergency assistance.

In FY 1998, the Africa Food Security Initiative will provide the means for USAID/Ethiopia to continue to advance this work. As noted, particular attention is being paid to linkages between food aid, development assistance funded activities, and household level food security. These funds may also be used to support food security activities which have a regional impact under the GHAI.

USAID is helping to rebuild the devastated basic education system which is critical to the growth of an educated workforce and stable society. Over the past generation, the deterioration of the educational system has led to extremely low enrollments in schools as well as poor quality and irrelevant teaching. Beginning in 1994, USAID launched an ambitious effort with the GFDRE to restructure and revitalize primary education. This activity supports complementary, top-down actions to correct and improve policies while supporting large-scale local and regional pilot activities to strengthen teacher training, school administration, staffing and operations. Education quality has received strong attention from our government partners, and the Ministry of Education has begun setting minimum primary schooling standards to monitor the progress on quality and equity. A new promotion and salary structure based on merit has been put in place. Teacher training methods and facilities are improving, and female teacher-trainees (whose enrollment increased by 1000 this past year) are receiving increased attention. Curriculum development is benefiting from direct inputs from teachers and communities, and over 100 schools have so far been improved through USAID grants. A new school management structure has been adopted. The government continues to demonstrate its commitment to the sector by allocating increasing shares to the education budget overall, and to primary education in particular. For the first time in 20 years, legal change has led to the opening of private schools and to increased participation of private firms in the production of school texts.

Strategic Objective 1: Increased Availability of Selected Domestically Produced Food Grain Crops

Strategic Objective 3: Quality and Equity of Primary Education Improved in an Expanded System

Strategic Objective 4: Increased Access to and Participation in a Democratic System

* Special Objective 1: Enhanced Household Food Security in Target Areas

Agency Goal: Stabilizing World Population Growth and Protecting Human Health

Of the total funding requested in FY 1998 for the population and health strategic objectives, $10,000,000 is planned for population activities, and $13,325,000 is planned for health activities.

Ethiopia's gains in economic growth are seriously eroded by its rapidly increasing population. At the present growth rate of over 3%, Ethiopia's population could exceed 145 million by the year 2025, seriously magnifying the challenge of providing even basic social services. Today, of the seven children born to the average Ethiopian woman, one or two will not survive past the age of five. Fewer than 20% of Ethiopians have access to modern health care services and their health status is among the worst in the world. Overwhelmed public sector health facilities cannot meet even rudimentary needs. It is estimated that 1.7 million Ethiopians were infected with HIV in 1996. This could translate into 1.8 million AIDS orphans by the year 2010. USAID's assistance focuses on encouraging the implementation of critical policy changes as well as providing hands-on assistance in AIDS education and prevention programs. In addition, assistance will strengthen rural primary health programs in selected regions of the country, including child survival. The government has continued to increase the relative allocation of national budget to health (from 6.2% to 7.7%), while improving internal allocations in favor of rural areas and preventive care and introducing mechanisms for cost recovery.

A strong and well thought out National Population Policy provides the framework for USAID support to population planning programs. U.S. technical assistance is provided to the national Office of Population as well as the Family Health Department of the Ministry of Health. USAID assistance is helping to improve the availability of reproductive health care and contraceptives through public, private and NGO channels. A consortium of local NGOs, is expanding health services to women and children, reaching over 15,000 women in 1996. Primary health care facilities are being built, rehabilitated and strengthened to increase the access and quality of care to rural communities.

Strategic Objective 2: Increased Use of Primary and Preventive Health Care Services

Agency Goal: Protecting the Environment

While there is no explicit strategic objective supporting the environment, USAID supports environmental efforts and natural resource management in the context of boosting agricultural production.

Strategic Objective 1: Increased Availability of Selected Domestically Produced Food Grain Crops

Agency Goal: Building Democracy

Ethiopia's struggle for sustainable development parallels efforts to move away from a highly centralized and historically authoritarian mode of governance. Since 1992, the United States has consistently attempted to accelerate, facilitate, and guide the development of institutions and processes which underpin democratic societies and a decentralized form of government. In 1996, USAID assistance helped to define a far reaching effort by the GFDRE to fundamentally reform the Civil Service that will include revamping of financial management and accounting practices at both central and regional levels. Our assistance is a direct response to an initiative of the Prime Minister's office which is setting out the blueprint for reform. Given the magnitude and scope of this reform effort, our assistance will have a significant long term impact on the effectiveness of GFDRE and donor investments throughout the country.

Work with emerging legislative institutions has continued and will include assistance in establishing a new Human Rights Commission and Ombudsman in consultation with domestic and international human rights organizations. A program to provide much needed in-service training to judges has been developed and launched in collaboration with the Ethiopian judiciary, the recently established Civil Service College and other donors. Training for judges and judicial personnel will be conducted throughout the country over the next 18 months. USAID has also assisted the Federal Supreme Court in its efforts to develop an improved system of judicial administration, and will continue to support the strengthening of judicial independence.

Capacity building and support for domestic NGOs and civic organizations also remains a primary focus of USAID/Ethiopia's democracy and governance activities. A major program for strengthening the institutional capacities of local NGOs and improving the regulatory environment is continuing.

Strategic Objective 4: Increased Access to and Participation in a Democratic System

Agency Goal: Humanitarian Assistance

In spite of two years of record harvests, a large number of people in Ethiopia remain chronically undernourished. Throughout recent decades, the U.S. Government has responded generously to prevent starvation in Ethiopia , providing more than one billion U.S. dollars of food aid. The post-Marxist government has developed a system capable of responding effectively to drought and other emergencies that relies on a strategic grain reserve, early warning methods, and cooperative efforts with NGOs, donors and international organizations. This system was tested and found strong in 1994, when emergency food needs were as large as in 1984. Hundreds of thousands of lives were saved and the devastation of 1974 and 1984 was not repeated. The new draft food security policy identifies a major role for NGOs in the provision of humanitarian assistance.

Under GHAI auspices, the government, donors and NGOs are developing a coordinated nation-wide early warning system that will allow targeting of food aid and development resources to areas of greatest need. If these various groups can work together cooperatively, similar experiments will be tried in neighboring GHAI countries. Since 1995 USAID has been working with our NGO partners in Ethiopia to restructure the management and more narrowly define the implementation of our Title II Regular programs. Together with our local and U.S. Title II partners, we have developed a common objective to focus our food resources on enhancing household food security. As a result, USAID/Ethiopia's Title II food program will be positioned to show demonstrable impact on improving the food security of vulnerable households in one of the most food insecure countries of the world.

Special Objective 1: Enhanced Household Food Security in Target Areas

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ETHIOPIA

FY 1998 PROGRAM SUMMARY

	Encouraging Broad-based Economic Growth	Stabilizing World Population Growth & Protecting Human Health	Protecting the Environment	Building Democracy	Providing Humanitarian Assistance	TOTALS
USAID Strategic Objectives
1. Increased Availability of Selected Domestically Produced Food Grain Crops - Dev. Fund for Africa - P.L. 480, Title III	8,700,000 9,900,000	--- ---	2,500,000 ---	--- ---	--- ---	11,200,000 9,900,000
2. Increased Use of Primary and Preventive Health Care Services - Dev. Fund for Africa	---	23,325,000	---	---	---	23,325,000
3. Quality and Equity of Primary Education Improved in an Expanded System - Dev. Fund for Africa	10,760,000	---	---	---	---	10,760,000
4. Increased Access to and Participation in a Democratic System - Dev. Fund for Africa	350,000	---	---	2,350,000	---	2,700,000
Special Objective 1. Enhanced Household Food Security in Target Areas - Dev. Fund for Africa - P.L. 480, Title II	300,000 ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- 24,453,000	300,000 24,453,000
Totals - Dev. Fund for Africa - P.L. 480, Title II - P.L. 480, Title III	20,110,000 --- 9,900,000	23,325,000 --- ---	2,500,000 --- ---	2,350,000 --- ---	--- 24,453,000 ---	48,285,000 24,453,000 9,900,000

USAID Mission Director: Margaret P. Bonner

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: ETHIOPIA

TITLE & NUMBER: Increased Availability of Selected Domestically Produced Food Grain Crops, 663-SO01

STATUS: Continuing

PROPOSED OBLIGATION & FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $11,200,000 DFA; $9,900,000 P.L. 480, Title III

INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003

Purpose: Increase the availability of selected domestically produced food grain crops in Ethiopia through support to the government, the private sector and NGOs.

Background: During the past regime, the United States helped to keep Ethiopians alive with massive, costly shipments of food aid. In the last five years, peace and a new government have, with USAID assistance, begun to move Ethiopia from receiving relief to achieving food security -- one of the two main goals of the GHAI. Helping small farmers to produce more food is one of the GFDRE's top priorities and they have committed substantial financial and human resources to this end. Yet even with this commitment, it will be five to 10 years before the infrastructure and programs are in place to allow Ethiopia to feed itself adequately on a sustained basis, across good and bad years.

USAID Role and Achievements to Date: The GFDRE has made great strides in increasing agricultural production with an estimated 20% increase in 1996 over the previous year. Under the Development of Competitive Markets (DCM) Project and Program, as well as our Title III Food Security program, USAID has complemented these efforts by focusing on the markets, ensuring that inputs (e.g. fertilizer) get to the farmer and the increased production gets to the consumer in a cost-efficient manner. In addition to directly providing commodities to jumpstart the economy in the past (e.g. fertilizer, cotton, wheat, trucks), USAID programs have promoted policies to help liberalize the agricultural economy. Focusing primarily on reducing the role of the public sector and increasing that of the private sector, USAID has supported changes which:

-- reduced the market share of the parastatal grain trading agency from 37% to 4%;

-- eliminated state monopolies on distribution and sales of foods;

-- opened up fertilizer distribution and retailing to the private sector, resulting in an increase in private sector imports from 41,649 metric tons (MT) in 1994/95 to 130,000 MT in 1995/96. As a result of this and major efforts on the part of the GFDRE, total fertilizer sales increased from 150,000 MT in 1992 to 241,000 MT in 1996.

-- lifted transport controls thereby reducing transport costs of both agricultural inputs and the commodities themselves. As a result, regional grain price differentials have dropped significantly: prices in cereal surplus areas have risen by 12% to 48% (benefiting the farmer), while prices in cereal deficit areas have declined by 6% to 36% (benefiting the consumer).

Description: USAID efforts will continue to complement the GFDRE emphasis on increasing production, working at the policy level as well as on the ground. We will support key GFDRE analytical activities to understand and stabilize food price mechanisms in the emerging market economy, and build on early support to the Ethiopian Central Statistical Authority to improve data collection techniques, analysis and timeliness of its annual Agricultural Survey. This will help provide policy makers and donors with more accurate data on what is occurring in Ethiopia's eight million small farms and whether the policy changes are having the intended effect.

USAID assistance under the Resources for Developing Agriculture project will operate at the local level, initially through NGOs, including activities which will broaden the input market by working with private retailers to expand the range of products they sell to include agricultural inputs (e.g. fertilizer, improved seeds, pesticides) and to address the constraints women face in the agricultural sector.

The GFDRE has expanded its own agricultural extension program which provides farmers with intensive assistance coupled with credit to purchase improved inputs. Due to the success of this effort, and recent Food Security paper, USAID is refining its own strategy for identifying areas for support. The broad outlines of the program will likely continue to support efforts to encourage increased participation of the private sector, while at the same time re-defining the role of government in the agriculture sector.

Host Country and Other Donors: USAID support for this objective complements program interventions by the European Union, the World Bank, and other donors in agricultural production, transportation, infrastructure development, and related policy reforms. Private sector seed market development is underway by the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Increasing access to fertilizer through more competitive and efficient markets is closely coordinated with the World Bank and five other major donors. Efforts to promote small-scale farm production complement current Swedish efforts to enhance grain production in the major growing areas and future World Bank efforts. There are regular meetings of donors involved in fertilizer provision as well as a broader donor forum on agriculture issues, and most recently on food security.

Beneficiaries: The beneficiaries will be urban and rural Ethiopians who must purchase some or all of their food on the market. More immediate beneficiaries are the millions of small farmers and small agricultural businesses who will profit from the increase in demand for agricultural goods. In addition, as farm and non-farm activities expand, rural landless laborers will find new employment.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: U.S. Department of Agriculture/ National Agricultural Statistics Service, Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance, Michigan State University and Winrock International.

Major Results Indicators:                   Baseline          Target 

Increased average production
per hectare                                  (1992)               (2003)

     Maize                                  1.1 MT/ha           2.5 MT/ha
     Wheat                                   .8 MT/ha          1.5 MT/ha

Sales of Fertilizer annually               150,000 MT          500,000 MT

Increased private sector
involvement in fertilizer                    (1992)               (2003)     

     Import                                    0 %                75 %
     Wholesale                                 0 %                100 %
     Retail                                    5 %                100 %

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: ETHIOPIA

TITLE & NUMBER: Increased Use of Primary and Preventive Health Care Services, 663-SO02

STATUS: Continuing

PROPOSED OBLIGATION & FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $23,325,000 DFA

INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003

Purpose: To increase the use of primary and preventive health care services in order to improve the health status of Ethiopians and reduce population growth.

Background: In 1991, following almost 20 years of Marxist rule, the health status and access to health care of Ethiopians was among the poorest in the world. Five years later it is still far below the levels of other African countries. Fewer than 20% of Ethiopians have access to modern health care. At its current population growth rate of over 3%, Ethiopia's population will exceed 145 million by the year 2025. The average Ethiopian woman has more than seven children during her lifetime of whom one to two will die before they are five. In 1996, an estimated 1.7 million Ethiopians are infected with HIV.

USAID Role and Achievements to Date: The Essential Services for Health in Ethiopia (ESHE) activity attacks these problems. ESHE promotes integrated rural child survival and general health care services in the Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia; expands comprehensive reproductive health service delivery through NGOs nationwide; and is instituting the private social marketing of condoms throughout Ethiopia. At the national level, USAID supports policy reforms which focus on increasing the GFDRE budget resources dedicated to basic health, emphasizing child survival and integrated sustainable rural health service delivery.

BASICS has begun to conduct baseline surveys of health facilities in targeted areas in the SNNPR and is planning community level surveys in the second quarter of FY 1997. With USAID assistance, a National Information, Education and Communications strategy for health care services has been developed and is soon to be adopted by the GFDRE. Training has promoted new and innovative methods of service delivery, especially at the community level utilizing existing structures. Pathfinder has provided family planning services to over 20,000 women.

Through USAID support for contraceptive social marketing, nearly 24 million condoms were sold in 1996 and it is anticipated that over 30 million condoms will be sold in 1997 to reduce HIV transmission. USAID HIV/AIDS activities have expanded sexually transmitted disease treatment to over 30,000 clients in urban areas.

Rural health service delivery efforts in the SNNPR will initially reach about 1.6 million children under five years and almost two million women. Over the next five years, up to a total of eight million children and women nationally will have access to basic care. If implemented successfully, by the end of the project, over 150,000 child deaths could be saved annually. A reproductive health survey was completed in the SNNPR, which utilized state-of-the-art technologies developed in the United States. This survey provides important information on causes of maternal and child illness and death, and presents options for improving maternal and child health which are directly suited to the specific needs of those communities. USAID is also supporting initiatives in the SNNPR to promote public and private sector cooperation to maximize health care delivery services.

Description: USAID assistance focuses on encouraging policy reforms to: (1) increase resources budgeted to population, health, and nutrition activities, and expenditures on primary health care; (2) reorient services more toward prevention of infant and child mortality; (3) develop and implement a national health care financing strategy and implement cost recovery and local financing to promote a self-sustaining system; (4) focus resources on community delivery, particularly for child survival initiatives; and (5) liberalize the provision of reproductive health care service delivery.

Project assistance will be concentrated in the SNNPR and will fund: (1) enhanced rural health care service delivery to improve maternal and child health (including the reduction of communicable parasitic and infectious diseases); (2) developing and implementing a national health care financing strategy and logistics management information system, which will move financial decision making closer to those providing care; (3) strengthening the national AIDS control program; (4) supporting indigenous NGO outreach programs in family planning; and (5) expanding contraceptive social marketing.

Host Country and Other Donors: The GFDRE has demonstrated its commitment to improving the health of Ethiopians by continuing to increase the share of the national budget allocated to health (from 6.2% to 7.7% in 1996), with emphasis on rural and preventive, not just curative, services. The government has adopted basic policies and strategies to shape programs in health and family planning. In addition, a policy on women recognized the need to improve their role in society. Donor coordination has generally been good. A regular donor group meets under a rotating chairmanship and is participated in by up to 15 organizations. In addition to USAID, major donors in the sector include the World Bank, World Health Organization, the Netherlands, UNFPA, UNICEF and Germany. While there has been only slow progress to date on privatization of State Farms, their existence is not an important factor in resolving Ethiopia's food production problems. State Farms represent less than 5% of the country's production, they receive no budgetary support from the government and therefore do not represent a drain on the budget as they did under the previous Marxist regime.

Beneficiaries: At the end of this activity, beneficiaries will include 50% of the 16 million people in the SNNPR, and an estimated 10 million urban residents nationally who will benefit from family planning, and AIDS prevention and control activities.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Activities to achieve this strategic objective are being implemented by a wide range of international and local partners working in collaboration with the GFDRE and local governments. These partners include BASICS, Pathfinder (a U.S. PVO), Family Health International, Population Services International, Partnership for Child Health, the Family Planning Consortium of NGOs in Ethiopia, and World Health Organization.

Major Results Indicators:                   Baseline          Target 

Health as a percent of national budget      5.8 (1992)      9.0 (2002)  

Number of condoms distributed              18 m (1992)     132 m  LOP (2002) 
  annually

Use of essential services in rural
areas of SNNPR                          20%-40% (1992)    40%-60% (2002) 

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: ETHIOPIA

TITLE & NUMBER: Quality and Equity of Primary Education Improved in an Expanded System, 663-SO03

STATUS: Continuing

PROPOSED OBLIGATION & FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $10,760,000 DFA

INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2002

Purpose: To improve the quality and equity of primary education in an expanded (and expanding) system by improving education sector policy, financing, and decentralized administration, and improving the supply of critical inputs such as teachers, curricula, and books.

Background: The educational system is not serving Ethiopia's future generations in terms of educational quality or access to schools. Only about 25% of eligible children nationally are enrolled in primary school, with even lower rates for girls and rural children. Those enrolled do not generally get a quality education. Less than half of the adult population can read or write, and the average education of the work force is a mere 1.1 years. Ethiopia ranks last among the world's developing countries in terms of the educational level of its working force.

USAID Role and Achievements to Date: Through the Basic Education Systems Overhaul (BESO) program, USAID is providing technical, financial and other assistance to the GFDRE to bring about policy change, improve education sector financing, and decentralize administration. USAID is also helping the government by working with teacher training institutes to improve teacher preparation, curricula, policies and facilities, and by assuring the sustainable availability of key inputs such as books and improved curricula. Implementation is now in its second year, and gains are already evident. The Ministry of Education has drafted new minimum primary schooling standards to monitor progress on quality objectives. A new career and salary structure for teachers based on merit is being implemented. Teacher training methods and facilities are improving, with female trainees receiving increased attention. At the community level over 100 schools have been improved, and a new school management structure has been adopted. Curriculum development for the first time involves direct input from teachers and, in one pilot effort, communities. Planning and policy analysis techniques are improving, linked to more efficient collection and production of educational data. Gender related objectives are being met in part with the admission of 1,000 more female trainees annually into primary teacher training institutes and a public campaign (including songs in local languages) initiated to encourage parents to send their daughters to school. Financing for education has also improved with an increase in the national budget share for education from 14.8% to 16.3% over the past two years. The financing of education is being diversified, with the opening up of private schools for the first time in over 20 years and cost-sharing measures being planned at secondary and tertiary levels. Finally, competition for textbook production contracts is expanding out of the public sector, resulting in one region with a private firm winning a publishing contract for the first time.

Description: USAID efforts are focused on: (1) improved quality and equity of the primary school environment; (2) improved efficiency and effectiveness of key quality-related services, such as teachers and books; (3) improved quality of teacher training; (4) improved decentralized management and administration of primary education; and (5) increased and more rational and efficient sectoral financing.

USAID interventions occur at the center to promote system-wide gains and in the two focus regions (containing about 25% of the country's population) to improve the administration of the newly decentralized system. USAID assistance strengthens the skills of education administrators, school principals and newly recruited primary school teachers (with particular attention to females), development of more relevant curricula, and improvement in the supply of instructional materials to schools. Furthermore, within hundreds of rural settings, communities will identify problems which have eroded education and receive direct support to redress these problems. Finally, USAID supports thespreading of gains and lessons from the target regions to other regions throughout the country.

Host Country and Other Donors: USAID assistance has been explicitly designed to conform to and promote the stated education policies and priorities of the GFDRE. While USAID is seen as the major donor in this area, others supporting primary education include the World Bank, UNICEF, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Ireland. Currently the Japanese are developing a sector assistance program and are exploring ways to develop a coordinated approach with USAID.

Beneficiaries: The ultimate beneficiaries are the expanding pool of primary school pupils in the two target regions, expected to number over 2.4 million by 2000. In addition, about 1,600 teacher trainees per year at the three teacher training institutes in the focus regions will benefit in the interim.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Academy for Educational Development, World Learning, Inc. and Tigray Development Association (an Ethiopian NGO).

Major Results Indicators:          Indicators          Baseline          Target 
                           (apply to target regions)
					  
Primary school graduation           Tigray         51% (1994-95)      60% (2002)
examination raw scores              SNNPR          being compiled     20% gain (2002)

Primary school female               Tigray         40% (1994/95)     45% (2002)
 enrollment rates                   SNNPR          20% (1994/95)     25% (2002)

Primary school rural                Tigray         39% (1994/95)     45% (2002)
 enrollment rates                   SNNPR          29% (1994/95)     35% (2002)

Share of females in                 Tigray         33% (1994/95)     45% (2002)
  grade 4                           SNNPR          30% (1994/95)     40% (2002)

Primary schools meeting quality and          being analyzed      To be determined 
equity standards (recently established)     (1996/97)

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: ETHIOPIA

TITLE & NUMBER: Increased Access to and Participation in a Democratic System, 663-SO04

STATUS: Continuing

PROPOSED OBLIGATION & FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $2,700,000 DFA

INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1999

Purpose: Increase access to and participation in a democratic system in Ethiopia by providing selected support and assistance to government and NGOs in Ethiopia.

Background: Emerging from centuries of feudal rule, capped by a generation of authoritarian Marxism, Ethiopia requires sustained support and technical guidance to build democratic institutions and procedures, and more responsive and transparent mechanisms for governance. Assistance is also required to establish a positive enabling environment for civil society and to assist indigenous NGOs to assume positive and active roles in economic development and democratic governance.

USAID Role and Achievements to Date: Efforts to achieve this strategic objective began with the Democracy and Governance Support project in 1992. Subsequent support was provided to improve election administration, the drafting of and deliberations on a new federal constitution, the investigation and prosecution of war crimes, the formation and structuring of a new Parliament, the strengthening and administration of national and regional courts, and supported a more devolved federal system of government. Assistance has also helped strengthen institutions of civil society, including indigenous civic NGOs, and political parties firmly committed to democratic competition.

By 1995, based on elections for constitutionally established legislative and executive leadership positions at both federal and regional levels, the transition from a temporary to an elected government was completed. The newly elected Parliament is starting to take shape. This body should be able to help resolve inter-regional disputes, and facilitate the efficient and equitable distribution of revenue, both between the federal government and among the regions. As requested by the new parliamentary leadership, USAID provided support in thinking through a variety of structural, organizational, and capacity-related issues, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency in legislative decision-making, as well as the need for public access to the legislative process.

Efforts to strengthen civil society and to facilitate the organizational consolidation of existing civic associations are bearing fruit. Several networks of civic NGOs have been organized and coordination among organizations has improved. A USAID sponsored NGO effort to monitor and report on the conduct of the on-going war-crimes trials has functioned since the beginning of these trials. Although the total number of civic NGOs remains limited, many of them are becoming increasingly operational and confident. USAID has played a leading role in encouraging the establishment of a positive enabling environment for the development of a vibrant civil society. Over the past year the NGO Support and Development project has been initiated to strengthen the institutional capacities of local NGOs and encourage the improvement of the legislative and regulatory parameters under which they operate.

Description: USAID has focused on providing timely and appropriate support in key democratic institutions and processes during the transition. Some of these activities, such as support for NGO coverage of the trials of former officials under the Mengistu regime, and support to the National Election Board will be phased out. Training and support to the local media will begin under a grant to the United States Information Agency. Activities now being developed with government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will organize judicial training programs at the regional level and provide support to the organization and functioning of the new Parliament. Support to strengthen indigenous NGOs will continue. The emerging federal structure is strongly committed to the principles of fiscal federalism. Although regional administrative capacity remains uneven, there has been an increasing devolution of authority and control over budgets to regional states. USAID will support this devolution ofresponsibility to local governments, focusing initially on capacity and policy-making related to fiscal federalism and federal-regional economic policy coherence.

Host Country and Other Donors: Considerable energy and funds have been devoted by the GFDRE to developing democratic institutions and procedures. Under the guidance of a group of ambassadors, the coordination and collaboration among key donors, including the United Kingdom, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), France, Italy, Germany, the United States, and international NGOs has been extremely good.

Beneficiaries: Direct beneficiaries include individuals and communities who have chosen to participate in the new political, judicial, and legislative systems as well as civic society groups. Ultimate beneficiaries will include the people of Ethiopia.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Carter Center, National Democratic Institute, Participating Agencies Cooperating Together, Fund for Peace, International Fund for Election Systems, Thunder Associates, Inter-Africa Group, USIA, UNDP, A-Bu-Gi-Da, and Harvard Institute for International Development.

Major Results Indicators:              Baseline                    Target
                                       (1991)                      (1998)

Increased access to the          No free elections              Well administered 
state and its decision-making    Extremely managed judiciary    Competed elections 
via transparent mechanisms       No independent media           Independent judiciary 
(elections, judiciary, media,    Centralized government         Independent, responsible 
 effective regional government).                                media functioning, efficient
                                                                regional governments 

Expanded and more                No civic NGOs                  Improved enabling environment.
active mechanisms for                                           NGOs can articulate constituent
voluntary participation in                                      interests and engage in public 
social and political life                                       debates.  
(civic NGOs, political           No parties with                Non-violent opposition parties
parties, civic education).       implementable programs         formed, recruit and represent  
                                                                members, have programs

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: ETHIOPIA

TITLE & NUMBER: Enhanced Household Food Security in Target Areas, 663-SPO1

STATUS: Continuing

PROPOSED OBLIGATION & FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $300,000 DFA; $24,453,000 P.L. 480, Title II

INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1996 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: P.L. 480 Title II, Continuing, DFA FY 2000

Purpose: To enhance household food security in target areas where USAID cooperating partners have previously carried out food assisted interventions.

Background: Since 1991, peace, generally good rains and improved policies have led to record grain harvests in 1995 and 1996 and reduced the overall need for food imports. However, in 1996 over two million people in Ethiopia still required emergency food assistance. The country's chronic food insecurity is reflected in the extremely high levels of stunting in children (64%) and it is estimated that over one-half of the country's population remains food insecure. The resources previously directed to "relief" programs can and should be re-directed to strengthen the economic base of vulnerable, chronically food insecure people. Food can now be used to prevent, rather than respond to famine. This Special Objective was formulated in a collaborative process with the seven Cooperating Title II Partners undertaking food assisted interventions in all three areas of food security (availability, access, utilization).

USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID's mandate to demonstrate developmental impact has provided the Title II program with the impetus to demonstrate a significant positive impact on household food security in Ethiopia. In 1996, the Title II sponsors collaboratively with USAID developed this Special Objective to increase agricultural crop production; increase household incomes; improve use of primary and preventive health care; better maintain natural resources; and ensure that emergency monitoring and response capacities are improved. The structure of indicators to improve measurement of the results of Title II programs is still being worked out with cooperating partners, and is expected to be in place by January 1997. In 1996 the Title II sponsors shipped 35,170 metric tons valued at over $18 million, directly benefiting some 800,000 people.

Description: Title II partners are generally working in drought prone rural areas where populations are heavily dependent on rainfed agriculture. The key to household food security in these marginal areas is to build up the resource base and range of income flows of families to allow them to withstand the inevitable cycles of good and bad years. Increasing agricultural production is one way to accomplish this. NGO efforts to increase agricultural production include the construction of irrigation systems, farm to market roads, improving access of farmers to agricultural inputs (tools, seeds, extension services). The NGO partners are also assisting local farmers to increase their income directly through cash crop production, livestock husbandry, rural credit programs and vocational training.

Historically, the Ethiopian Government Health Service has focused on curative not preventative health. Poor health and nutritional status in rural Ethiopia is well documented. The areas where Title II NGO Cooperating Sponsors work are often without even rudimentary health services. Expanding preventative (immunization, health, nutrition education) services to target groups will result in improved health and nutrition, especially for children. In addition, Title II partners are improving water supplies for communities by protecting springs, developing wells and catchment systems that will not only have importance for agriculture and livestock but the safety of community water supplies. Title II partners will also continue to program considerable resources for protection and conservation efforts (afforestation, enclosure systems, soil bunding and terracing) to try to arrest further deterioration of the ecosystem.

Although, the focus of our NGO Partners is food assisted development programs, the vital role the NGOs have played in responding to past emergencies is recognized and this capacity will be maintained and, where possible, improved. The NGOs working in vulnerable areas provide the FDRE and donors with a framework which allows for quick response to food needs and the prevention of migration and starvation.

Host Country and Other Donors: After years of relief activity by a large number of NGOs working with a sometimes hostile Ethiopian government, relations between the new government and NGOs in peacetime have become quite constructive and collaborative. The DPPC has constituted a number of working groups involving government ministries/NGO partners and donors to study issues and assist the GFDRE in policy formulation and implementation of various aspects of preparedness and prevention, e.g., food program targeting. The World Food Program hosts weekly meetings that bring United Nations agencies, donors, NGOs, and the DPPC together to discuss all aspects of food assistance programming. In 1996, USAID invested considerable time in improving the capacity of the GFDRE to better target scarce food resources. Under the aegis of the Greater Horn of Africa Initiative, Ethiopia will also be the first country in the region to attempt to standardize how food assessments are done and how vulnerable groups are defined. USAID has been the main supporter in this exercise which will hopefully allow prediction of levels of poverty for each wereda (district) in the country. USAID has also worked closely with the DPPC, other donors and NGOs to improve coordination of Early Warning Systems that monitor rainfall, crop and market conditions nationwide. USAID plans to collaboratively support a number of special studies, workshops, and forums to improve food program design, implementation and targeting with the GFDRE and NGO partners. This integration of DA with the P.L. 480 Title II food program will provide needed and flexible support to enhance GFDRE and NGO capability to respond rapidly to food shortages and crises.

Beneficiaries: Direct beneficiaries will be the most vulnerable populations in Ethiopia, approximately 750,000 people.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Developmentally oriented Title II programs will be implemented by a group of NGO partners which includes five international and two indigenous organizations: CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children Federation/USA, World Vision International, Food for the Hungry International, The Relief Society of Tigray and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Major Results Indicators                  Baseline          Target

Per cent increase in crop yield                        to be set by February 1997 

Per cent increase in no. livestock

Reduced prevalence of diarrhoea diseases

Unit/area of communal land protected or 
  reclaimed

Approved/updated Disaster Management 
  plans in place 

Access to local early warning information 
  for all target areas

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