Emergency/Long Term Food Security & Resilience in Ethiopia
Our Work Overseas
Project Details
Project Locations: Nine Woredas (Districts) in Ethiopia’s East Hararghe Zone, Oromia region
Timeframe: 2021 - 2027
Donor: USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance
Partners: Meki Catholic Secretariat, Hararge Catholic Secretariat, Mercy Corps, Center for Creative Leadership, John Hopkins University School of Public Health, GOAL, Center for Creative Leadership, Ethiopian Catholic Church - Social and Development Commission Branch Office of Harar, Viamo, and Cornell University
Project Overview
CRS in Ethiopia is implementing the Ifaa program (“light” in Afaan Oromo) to brighten the future for poor communities in Oromia by reducing intractable poverty, vulnerability, and food insecurity. Building on experience from the previous CRS-led Development Food Security Activity, CRS will continue to lead a consortium of specialized local and international partners to deliver high-quality services.
Ifaa targets nine Woredas (districts) based on poverty, Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) caseload/ potential for scale, partner presence, and opportunity for impact in Ethiopia’s East Hararghe Zone of Oromia Region. Ifaa, at its core, is about helping community visioning and human-center approaches become more realistic and impactful. Ifaa will prioritize pregnant and lactating women, with a particular focus on first-time mothers, caregivers, and influential community members to ensure children under five receive adequate nutrition, vulnerable community members are reached, and behavior change takes root to create lasting change.
Key Areas of Intervention
CRS Ethiopia DFSA focuses on below listed key intervention areas under three purposes and one cross cutting purpose.
- Health and Nutrition
- Agriculture and Economic Livelihoods
- Environment and Climate Change
- Capacity Strengthening
- Social assistance
- Gender, Youth, and Social Dynamics
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Expected Outcomes
Purpose 1: Vulnerable Households and Individuals Have Sufficient Quantity, Quality, and Diversity of Food at All Times.
Purpose 2: Vulnerable Community Members' Livelihoods Transformed.
Purpose 3: PSNP Systems Deliver Accountable, Effective, and Shock-Responsive Services.
CRS in Ethiopia
CRS began working in Ethiopia in 1958 at the invitation of the Episcopal Conference of Ethiopia. Since that time, CRS' programs and missions have adapted and grown in response to and in tandem with the changing reality of the lives of the poorest of the poor. CRS' initial programming was focused on small scale charity and relief projects. However, during the years 1984-1986, a wide-spread drought and famine in Ethiopia resulted in one of the largest humanitarian crises of the past century. CRS responded to this crisis by implementing an emergency response operation known as the Joint Relief Partnership (JRP). This was an ecumenical collaborative effort that included CRS, the Ethiopian Catholic Church, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, and the Lutheran World Federation. In 1987 the Ethiopian Orthodox Church also joined the JRP consortium. The JRP delivered life-saving food (primarily from the US Government and European Community) that saved the lives of millions of Ethiopians. This program was the largest relief operation ever undertaken by CRS.
Starting in the 1990s until now, CRS diversified its programming to include a more holistic, community and partner-based approach focusing on root causes of poverty. As a result, CRS developed strong partnerships with the local Catholic Church to address chronic food insecurity. Meanwhile, CRS maintains its emergency response capacity and leads the Joint Emergency Operation coordinating several international and national NGOs, coordinating closely with the Government of Ethiopia and the donor, the US Government via USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
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