U.S. Increases Funding for Economic Development, Health and Education in Ethiopia

August 8, 2006
No. 24/06

Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) --  In recognition of Ethiopia’s importance to the United States, the U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing new funding totaling $57.6 million (501million Birr) to assist the Ethiopian people in three keys areas: agricultural and private sector development, health care, and primary education. 

This week, newly arrived USAID Mission Director Glenn Anders and State Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mekonnen Manyazewal signed Bilateral Grant Agreements in support of ongoing U.S.–Ethiopian partnership programs under USAID.  These programs operate in every region of Ethiopia to reduce vulnerability to disease, improve the quality of education for children, and help end food insecurity, hunger, and poverty.  The new USAID funds will be disbursed for jointly-designed programs that support the people of Ethiopia.

One grant adds $15.6 million (136 million Birr) to existing and new programs promoting market-led economic growth, particularly in the food, livestock and agriculture sectors.  These programs promote private sector agribusiness development and encourage commercial markets to play a fuller role in meeting Ethiopia’s food needs and income generation needs.

A second grant adds $32 million (278.4 million Birr) to a program aimed at improving Ethiopia’s health services and preventing the spread of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS.  These health programs will also expand child health through better immunization coverage and nutrition education and through strengthened family planning services.

A third grant provides an additional $10 million (87 million Birr) for educational programs that increase opportunities for Ethiopian children to receive quality education.  This program enhances teacher capacity, increases the availability of school materials that focus on girls’ education, strengthens parent involvement in school management, expands non-formal education for adults and children and helps to improve the planning and management of primary school systems at the federal, regional and district levels.

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