Ethiopia, ECA Team up on Resilience Project

Aug 16 , 2020


[ssba-buttons]

The Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the government of Ethiopia have inked an agreement framework to launch a four-year project on nature-based solutions for water resources infrastructure and community resilience at a cost of 3.6 million dollars. Seleshi Bekele (PhD), minister of Water, Irrigation & Energy, signed the MoU with Vera Songwe, executive secretary of ECA. The project has support from Sweden under the SIDA-funded ECA programme Delivering Climate Resilient Development Policies in Africa. The programme was kicked off through tree planting efforts carried out in Amhara, Oromia and Addis Abeba; and later in Afar, where this activity has been postponed due to the recent floods in the area. Nature-based solutions for climate action creates jobs and contributes to the achievement of the Decade of Action, according to Vera.


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...