In terms of humanitarian response capacity, in 2023 the number of organizations active in the humanitarian response has reached 203, including 16 government agencies, 88 INGOs, 90 NNGOs and 9 UN agencies.
At the strategic level, access issues faced by affected communities and aid partners will be escalated to ensure the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) and the Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team (EHCT) engage in due advocacy and humanitarian negotiations to enlarge the humanitarian space in the country. The OCHA-led Access Working Group (AccessWG) will redouble efforts to ensure that people in need in the most hard-to-reach areas can access assistance and protection services.
- Specific ‘Access strategies’ will be developed for Amhara and Oromia regions to ensure the effective and principled delivery of life-saving assistance to vulnerable populations in all areas, including those contested or insecure.
- In 2024, special focus will be put to Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, Benishangul Gumuz, and Somali regions. Inter-agency access missions to prioritized hard-to-reach areas will be conducted to support partners on the ground scale-up the response, in close coordination with AccessWG members, the Protection and Logistic Clusters, UNDSS, and HINGO.
- The AccessWG at National and sub-national levels will coordinate discussions around issues impacting relief operations, produce regular public and private analyses , and engage with all stakeholders to identify sustainable ways to deliver aid. Strengthened access coordination with aid partners – in close liaison with UNDSS under the “Saving Lives Together” framework - will be sought in Amhara and Oromia regions.
- As done in 2023, building on the comparative advantage of the OCHA-managed “Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund”, further funding allocations will be pursued to target specific hard-to-reach areas, where the needs of the population is most acute.
- As part of the Localization Working strategy, the AccessWG will work closely with faith-based organizations to increase outreach to vulnerable communities and IDPs in conflict-affected areas.
- In collaboration with the Assessment and Analysis Working Group (A&AWG), Protection Cluster and UNDSS, guidance will be developed on “how to operate in hard-to-reach areas” including a “Code of conduct” translated in local languages. In light of the fluidity of the security situation in multiple areas, additional resources will be allocated to train aid workers in field locations.
- Under the leadership of the HC/EHCT, and in collaboration with HINGO, AccessWG will continue to follow any bureaucratic and administrative impediments (BAIs) to partners’ operations. Under the leadership of HC/EHCT, further advocacy efforts will be put into improving the overall environment for relief operations in Ethiopia, including on issues such as “new taxation of NGO vehicles”, “import of telecommunications items”, or “consular issues impacting NGOs”.
In terms of Humanitarian Civil – Military Coordination (CMCoord), the humanitarian community will continue deepen its engagement with Ethiopian security counterparts, in particular with Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and the Federal Police, through the establishment of a joint CMCoord steering committee at Federal level. Further collaboration will be pursued with Ethiopia’ security institutions in terms of emergency preparedness and response to natural disasters, in particular in Somali region. In liaison with the Durable solutions Working Group, permanent solutions will be sought to address the physical access impediments that year after year impact relief operations and the mobilization of aid during seasonal floods.