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On December 4, Mrs Anna Getaneh, Founder and President Ethiopian Children Fund (ECF) and Mrs. Valérie Tehio, Ethiopia country Director of the French Development Agency (AFD), signed a financing agreement of 250,000 euros in the presence of H.E. Mr Rémi Maréchaux, Ambassador of France to Ethiopia.

The 250,000 euros grant from AFD aims at supporting the NGO ECF’s multi-faceted emergency programme for the students of its educational center and their families, and at extending it to vulnerable Aleltu households (Oromia region). ECF set up an emergency program for its educational center at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, in March 2020, when the Ethiopian government took the decision to close educational institutions.  

With AFD financing, ECF has enabled the pupils and families to manage with the closure period of the education center and to face safely the pandemic from March to November 2020. ECF support was also dedicated to support student and avoid drop out and health issues. 1,000 families, representing approximately 5,000 people, benefited from the program and received food, hygiene products, educational support, among others.

The economic downturn caused by the pandemic is affecting the livelihoods of a large part of the population, in particular those who are living on informal incomes. The loss of income, combined with rising food prices, is pushing many people into poverty. For Ethiopian children, the most serious risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic may not be the disease itself, but the impacts on their daily lives, including malnutrition, lower learning process, dropping out of school, and gender inequalities.

This support against Covid-19 is part of the French solidarity response to the Ethiopian communities that are dealing with the Covid crisis. In that respect, France launched a EUR 1.2 billion initiative in response to the worldwide public health crisis caused by the global pandemics: “Health in Common”. This project is a modest contribution to the common endeavor.
    
“AFD is often supporting programs and policies that may seem far from direct beneficiaries, despite the overall benefits that are gained on the long term. In this case, we aimed at responding to immediate needs of the youth in a vulnerable community, thanks to the long term efforts of an Ethiopian civil society organization. We are proud of partnering with ECF in this program.” AFD Director in Ethiopia, Valerie Tehio, said.    

Press contact: AFD: Bérénice OREYO-PIERRONNET