Press Release
26 May 2006
UK supports new scheme to help Ethiopia’s poorest
The UK is to support a new scheme to safeguard basic health, education and water supply in Ethiopia, International Development Secretary Hilary Benn announced today.
In January, the UK along with other donors stopped direct budget support to the Government of Ethiopia as a result of concerns over human rights and governance issues in the country.
At the time, Mr Benn made clear that the UK would work with other donors to find other ways to support the poorest people in Ethiopia, where 80% of people live on less than $2 a day. The ‘protection of basic services’ grant is the result of this work. Unlike budget support, the money provided will be earmarked for spending in specific sectors: health, education, water and sanitation, and agriculture, and will be closely monitored.
Funding
The World Bank yesterday announced that it will provide over £120 million of funding, and the UK will provide £94 million over two years. The Netherlands will also be contributing, and other donors, including the European Commission, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and the African Development Bank are currently considering contributions.
The money from the grant will be provided to the ‘woredas’, or districts, in Ethiopia, and aims to:
- Help get an extra 3.7 million children in primary school over the next two years, bringing the total in school to over 15 million;
- Provide teacher training, and pay for the salaries for an additional 160,000 primary school teachers. This will help to bring class sizes down from an average 72 at the moment to 63 in two years;
- Help pay the salaries of over 16,000 doctors and nurses, provide 6.5 million insecticide treated bednets, 2 million doses of malaria treatment, and contraception for around 3 million women;
- Give over 20 million people access to clean water, through constructing and rehabilitating wells, and building sanitation facilities;
- Give about 2 million more poor farmers the help they need, through irrigation, veterinary services and pest control, to not only grow crops for themselves and their family, but also to sell to others. This helps the poor to help themselves.
Hilary Benn said:
"Because of our concerns over governance, human rights and the ongoing detention of opposition, media and members of civil society, I announced in January that the UK could no longer provide direct budget support to Ethiopia."
"But as I said at the time, I do not believe that the poor people of Ethiopia should be made to suffer because of these political problems."
"The protection of basic services grant that we have developed along with the World Bank and other donors will mean that education, water, and health care, continue to be delivered at the local level. The measures on tight financial reporting, and strengthening local accountability, will help to ensure that this funding reaches the poorest people."
"Earlier this year, I saw for myself the positive results that aid can bring for the poor in Ethiopia, including those affected by drought. That’s why I have also decided to extend our support for the productive safety nets programme, to help the very poorest to help themselves."
"Improving the governance and human rights situation in Ethiopia remains a priority. There needs to be a prompt, fair and open judicial process for those currently facing serious charges, but the only way forward for Ethiopia is through inclusive political dialogue."
Accountability
The protection of basic services grant will have strict quarterly reviews to ensure that money is being spent as intended. Release of funding will depend on the success of these reviews. Information will be provided to local communities on how the money is being spent, ensuring financial transparency and accountability.
The grant will also provide funds directly to ‘civil society’ groups – including faith groups, local associations etc – to help them to hold local officials to account for the delivery of basic services.
The UK is also providing £30 million this year for the productive safety nets programme in Ethiopia, to help 7 million households that face regular food shortages. The scheme gives the poorest the opportunity to earn predictable cash and food in exchange for work on public projects such as local roads and water schemes.
Notes to Editors
1. On 18 January 2006, Hilary Benn announced that due to concerns about governance and human rights, the UK could not provide a planned £50 million direct budget support to Ethiopia. However, he made clear that the UK would continue to support the poor people of Ethiopia. The UK’s provision of £94 million over two years to the protection of basic services grant is the result of this commitment.
2. The protection of basic services grant consists of four components:
- One: to protect the delivery of health, education, water and help to poor farmers, by providing funds to the regions and ‘woredas’, or districts;
- Two: to provide vaccines, anti-malarial bed-nets and other medicines;
- Three: to provide information to Ethiopian citizens on how much money has been provided, and what it will be spent on;
- Four: funding to support citizens and ‘civil society’ groups to ensure better accountability.
3. Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets programme aims tackle the problems of chronic hunger – and help those people who go hungry even when rains and other circumstances are normal. These people may have no job or income, have no land, or may be be chronically sick (for example, those living with HIV or AIDS).
The safety nets programme provides a combination of cash-for-work and food to this group of most vulnerable people. The programme helped 5 million people in 2005 and aims to help 8.29 million people in 2006, and nearly 9m people in 2007.
Read more about safety nets
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