Ethiopia

Girl in Amhara region of Ethiopia carrying water.

Girl in Amhara region of Ethiopia carrying water.© Leonard Tedd

In Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, poverty affects the majority of people, with 81% living below the poverty line and about 10 million of them at risk of starvation.

Although the government’s measures aimed at reducing poverty are having some effect, for substantial progress to be seen there needs to be a significant increase in economic growth, together with considerable assistance from the rest of the world.

Key facts

Pie chart of aid spending

(Above) Pie chart showing UK bilateral aid spending in Ethiopia (2008/09)

Total UK bilateral aid received (08/09): £165.5 million
Aid by sector:
Other social services: 36%
Humanitarian assistance: 20%
Education: 17%
Health: 15%
Governance: 7%
Growth: 4%
Other: 1%

Find out more in Key facts: Ethiopia

Major challenges

DFID’s main challenges in Ethiopia are:

  • governance
  • hunger and humanitarian aid
  • water and sanitation.

Find out more in Major challenges: Ethiopia

How We Have Helped

Emergency nutrition: a lifesaver in Ethiopia

Emergency nutrition: a lifesaver in Ethiopia

During the past 5 years, a new model for the community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) has been adopted globally and is radically improving the impact of treatment programmes

Jobs bring food for Ethiopia's poor

Jobs bring food for Ethiopia's poor

A combination of failed rains and rising prices led to food shortages across Ethiopia in 2008