Why?
Ethiopia is among countries highly vulnerable to man-made and natural hazards such as conflict,
drought, flood, epidemic and pandemic. Conflict and violence in Ethiopia lead to massive displacement
and high humanitarian needs. Government reforms have fueled the increasingly ethnically motivated
and politicized tensions. There is a high risk that the national election in 2020 will ignite additional
outbreaks of violence, likely affecting 3.3 million people nationwide. Moreover, the current COVID-19
pandemic is another risk the country is facing. Humanitarian agencies, including the Ethiopian Red
Cross Society (ERCS), have minimum preparedness and response capacities in place to meet the
immediate needs, while facing increased difficulty in accessing people in need due to shortage of PPEs,
security constraints and the politicization of the situation. The proposed Action will contribute to the
delivery of a timely and principled humanitarian response to people affected by conflict and COVID-19 in
Ethiopia, by strengthening the response preparedness capacity of the ERCS to deliver a timely and
principled response to humanitarian needs in conflict and other hazards (including COVID-19). The
Action will target the ERCS branches in three regions: Amhara, Oromia and SNNP. Activities address
technical capacity, systems and procedures, and logistics and include topics that are critical in a context
of conflict and other hazards, such as contingency planning; communication and coordination; safer
access and protection, and early warning/early action. By supporting the development and countrywide
familiarization of key response preparedness policies and guidelines, the Action also contributes to the
ERCS’s overall capacity. This Action is a partnership between the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC)
(lead), ERCS, Danish Red Cross (DRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).