UN Agencies, Gov't Appeal for $73m in Refugee Funding


UN Agencies, Gov't Appeal for $73m in Refugee Funding

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Refugees & Returnees Service are appealing for 73 million dollars in funding to provide food to over 750,000 refugees in Ethiopia. Funding shortfalls have already forced the WFP to cut rations for refugees residing in 22 camps and five sites in the Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Somali, and Tigray regional states.  The Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State hosts the highest number of camps and refugees, while refugees from South Sudan comprise 46pc of the refugee population. Food rations fell by 16pc in November 2015, by 40pc last November, and by half in June 2022. The lack of funding and prevailing global food strains brought on by the pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine, pose a serious risk to refugees. A study conducted by the UN agencies and the Service found that households in refugee camps are coping by reducing the number of meals they eat, consuming less appealing food, engaging themselves and children in income-generating activities, and borrowing cash.


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Regional Development Banks Tie-up for Private Sector Growth

Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and Trade Development Bank Group (TDB) signed a 100-million-dollar disbursement for a hybrid capital instrument last week on the sidelines of the African Union summit. Admassu Tadesse, president and managing director of TDB Group, and Sidi Ould Tah (PhD), president of BADEA were the signatories at the event attended by Central Bank Governor Mamo Mihretu, CEO of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange Tilahun Kassahun (PhD), and Deputy Chairperson of...


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National Bank Reports Five-Year Low Inflation, Record-High Exports

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), in its six-month snapshot on monetary and external sector developments, reports that inflation has dropped to 15.5pc, the lowest in five years and a 13.9pc decline from last year's 29.4pc rate. Headline inflation stood at 34.5pc during the same period in 2022. The report also shows a sharp decline in food inflation, which fell by 16.6pc, from 32.3pc in January 2024 to 15.7pc in January 2025. Non-food inflation dropped by 10.2pc, from 25.3pc last year to 1...


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Horn Initiative Boosts Regional Development Agenda

A total of 20 projects worth three billion dollars are currently being implemented in Ethiopia under the Horn of Africa Initiative, which held a performance review platform last week. This initiative, established in 2019, seeks to economically integrate Horn of Africa countries through development projects. Finance Minister Ahmed Shide accentuated the initiative's goals of enhancing infrastructure connectivity, strengthening trade and economic integration, building resilience to natural and man...