Ethiopia Ethiopia is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa and rich in history. Some of the oldest human remains have been found here, dating back 5.9 million years. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest nations in the world, and has never been colonised despite a short occupation by Italy’s Mussolini.
The country’s economy is based on agriculture: most families rely on the food they can grow; and coffee exports are critical to the nation’s economy. |
| Enabling people with disabilities An estimated 10% of Ethiopia’s population -- abouteight million people - lives with a disability, though accurate statistics are hard to come by because disabled people tend to be hidden from society.
In Ethiopia as in other poor countries, disability, whether physical, mental or intellectual, causes poverty, and is also a result of poverty, because of its connections with disease, inadequate health care, conflict and discrimination.
Disabled children are particularly vulnerable to poverty and injustice. They: • are often hidden away from society because of the shame felt by family members.
• are more likely to die early. There are few health services to support them.
• are usually unable to go to school. Once adults, people with disabilities are less likely to find work, They may have missed out on an education, or are discriminated against by employers who don’t believe they are capable of working. When they do find work, they are often paid less than non-disabled workers. World Vision is working with community and religious leaders to change perceptions and encourage full participation of people with disabilities in their communities’ development. |
Despite progress, millions live in poverty
Though Ethiopia has witnessed economic growth in recent times, recurrent drought, major famine, civil war and poor governance have left millions of people living in poverty.
Ethiopia particularly came to the world’s attention in the 1980s, when severe drought and resulting famine left more than eight million people facing starvation.
As well as a particular vulnerability to drought and poor harvests, Ethiopians struggle to find clean drinking water and send their children to school. Nearly two-thirds of adults are unable to read or write, and more than half of all children in Ethiopia do not attend school. Almost 80 percent of the population does not have access to clean drinking water. World Vision in Ethiopia World Vision started working in Ethiopia in 1971, providing emergency relief to refugees from the civil war within Sudan. Relief, rehabilitation and small community development projects followed. During the 1984/85 drought, World Vision’s massive emergency relief programmes helped save millions of lives, and helped people recover and build resilience to future disasters.
By 1990, World Vision had established longer-term community-based Area Development Programmes, through child sponsorship, and is now helping more than 10 million people. Currently World Vision is: • working with communities through 65 long-term development programmes, and shorter-term special projects, in six regional states and the capital, Addis Ababa.
• increasing food security for families: irrigation systems are now helping farming families produce three crops a year; networking is helping farmers sell their produce at fair prices.
• improving access to healthcare by building health centres and strengthening health services: pregnant women no longer trek long distances for healthcare
• helping children enrol and stay in school, by building classrooms, providing school materials and helping with school fees.
• improving health and sanitation by constructing drinking water systems, drilling boreholes and wells to provide clean drinking water.
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