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Please be advised that the Embassy of Ireland, Ethiopia website has moved and this page is no longer being updated. The Embassy website is now available at Ireland.ie/addisababa.

Irish Aid in Ethiopia

Irish Aid is the Irish Government’s programme for international development, and has been a core part of our work in Ethiopia since the Embassy opened in 1994.

PSNP programme participants constructing hillside terraces as part of the public works programme of the PSNP. Photo: Irish Aid.

Irish Aid’s overall goal in Ethiopia is to support the country’s growth and poverty reduction plan so that the poor benefit from, and contribute to, equitable economic, social and environmental development. In order to achieve this goal we partner with the Ethiopian government, UN agencies and a range of NGOs to ensure poor rural households are protected and resilient against climate shocks, populations in need of humanitarian assistance receive help, and that the most vulnerable live healthier and more secure lives.

Local market in Tigray. Photo: Irish Aid.

Some of the major initiatives we support include the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), which provides food and cash to millions of rural people living in poverty, while also contributing to land rehabilitation and the development of infrastructure. Irish Aid also contributes to the Ethiopian Humanitarian Fund, providing water, sanitation and health (WASH) facilities and nutrition to those in need of emergency assistance. We also support projects providing protection and care for women who have experienced Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and support the national health system to deliver maternal health programmes.

Ms Shefena Kasay, a farmer in Hawzien, Tigray region. Shefena’s farm has been changed immensely by Irish Aid supported projects. Photo: Irish Aid.

The Irish Aid Country Strategy Programme for Ethiopia outlines in detail the objectives of Irish Aid’s programme, focusing specifically on supporting initiatives which improve health, nutrition, governance, social protection, resilience of households and humanitarian assistance. It was developed for the period 2014-2018, and has been extended to the end of 2019.