Oct 7 , 2023
A data-sharing agreement that aims to assist refugees in easily accessing basic services such as health insurance, education, and banking was signed between officials of the National ID program, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Ethiopian Refugees & Returnees Services (RRS) last week. Yodahe Zemichael, executive director of the National ID program, Teyiba Hassen, director general of the Services, and Andrew Mbogori, UN refugee representative to Ethiopia, inked the agreement at Services headquarters. At the signing ceremony, Teybia reckoned that the agreement is a testimony towards a better protection scheme for refugees. There are over 930,000 refugees and asylum seekers residing in Ethiopia, originating from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, according to a report by the UN Refugee Agency.