Ethiopia - National Urban Profile
Ethiopia - National Urban Profile
Ethiopia - National Urban Profile
ETHIOPIA
URBAN PROFILE
Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries
Project designed and implemented by UN-HABITAT
and financed by European Union, Government of Italy, Government of Belgium and Government of the Netherlands
This report was prepared by Ethiopia UN-HABITAT Programme Manager Tewodros Tigabu and Consultant Girma Semu
elaborating on information collected through interviews with key urban actors in Ethiopia.
This project and report were managed by Mohamed El Sioufi, Alain Grimard and Kerstin Sommer. Important inputs were
provided by Alioune Badiane, Antonio Yachan, Farrouk Tebbal, Clarissa Augustinus, Mohamed Halfani, Lucia Kiwala,
Eduardo Moreno, Raf Tuts, Gulelat Gebede and Gora Mboup.
Review, editing and graphic design: Ib Knutsen.
Photographs by Alain Grimard and Ib Knutsen.
The designation employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any
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city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system
or degree of development. The analysis, conclusions and recommendations of the report do not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT or its
Member States.
Excerpts from this publication may be reproduced without authorisation, on condition that the source is indicated.
© United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), 2008.
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ETHIOPIA
URBAN PROFILE
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
access to safe drinking water), and Target 11 (achieving of a desk-study, interviews with key actors, and country-wide
significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million consultations with key urban actors and institutions. Consul-
slum dwellers by 2020). tation participants agreed to address the salient urban issues
including poverty, insecurity, corruption, pollution and crime
As part of our drive to address this crisis, UN-HABITAT is - all problems that negatively affect investments and economic
working with the European Commission (EC) to support development. A consensus was reached on priority interven-
sustainable urban development in African, Caribbean tions in the form of programme and project proposals to be
and Pacific (ACP) countries. Given the urgent and diverse implemented.
needs, the agency found it necessary to develop a tool for
rapid assessment to guide immediate, mid- and long-term I wish to acknowledge the contributions of Mr. Mohamed
interventions. El Sioufi, who initiated the urban profiling concept, the Pro-
gramme Manager Alain Grimard and Kerstin Sommer who
In 2004, UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office for Africa and coordinates the programme. I also wish to cite those mem-
the Arab States took the initiative to develop the approach bers of staff for their role in helping produce this report. They
for application in over 20 countries. This was achieved in include Alioune Badiane, Kerstin Sommer, Clarissa Augusti-
collaboration with other departments within the agency – the nus, Mohamed Halfani, Lucia Kiwala, Eduardo Moreno, Raf
Urban Development Branch with the Urban Environment Tuts, Gulelat Kebede, Gora Mboup and Tewodros Tigabu.
Section, the Global Urban Observatory, the Shelter Branch,
the Urban Governance Unit, the Gender Policy Unit, the I would like to wish all those who have participated in and
Environment Unit and the Training and Capacity Building supported this initiative every success in its implementation.
Branch. This new corporate approach is known as Rapid Urban I also look forward to supporting further their efforts in the
Sector Profiling for Sustainability. The implementation of the development of Ethiopia.
Urban Profiling was launched thanks to contributions from
the Governments of Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. Today,
UN-HABITAT is conducting city profiles in 18 new countries
as part of the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme
financed by EuropeAid and its Intra-ACP fund. Also, Ethiopia,
as well as 12 other African countries, are going to develop Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka
action plans for selected priority proposals presented in this Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations,
document, the second phase of the new programme. The and Executive Director,
idea behind the urban profiling is to help formulate urban UN-HABITAT
poverty reduction policies at the local, national and regional
levels through a rapid, participatory, crosscutting, holistic
and action-orientated assessment of needs. It is also aimed
2
Overview
OVERVIEW
Ethiopia is one of the least urbanized countries in Africa, with The main policy tool of the government is the Plan for Acceler-
some of the largest number of people living in cities. This ated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP).
apparent contradiction is owed to our agricultural heritage, It follows up lessons learned from the first comprehensive
where the majority has been working the land. Rapid popula- poverty-reduction policy in 2002, the Sustainable Develop-
tion growth has since been countering this, ensuring that, of ment and Poverty Reduction Programme (SDPRP). It has
77 million people, over 12 million are now living in cities. been developed in a participatory manner with national and
international stakeholders under the auspices of the Ministry
The growth of Ethiopian cities presents enormous challenges of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED). The final
to the nation. Not only are the markets in cities essential for draft was shared again with line ministries and regional au-
the prosperity of rural areas, but they can also provide addi- thorities, before being adopted by the Ethiopian parliament
tional economic growth, opportunities, and improved access as a legal document guiding national development policy
to education and health. until 2010.
The Ethiopian government has therefore partnered with UN- The Urban Profiling was handy to analyse policy thinking,
HABITAT to fully review the status of the cities, and see how focusing on urban sustainability through governance, insti-
Ethiopia best can facilitate for vulnerable groups, improve tutions and services. The participatory approach adopted
urban services, and support future growth. This publication in the process is also important to highlight issues that may
is the first step of this process, serving as both a base-line, otherwise not come to be identified. The continued support
and as an illuminator to what our areas of focus should be. from the Governments of Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and
The second phase will build upon these insights, and identify the European Commission is welcomed as developing sus-
tangible projects and processes that municipal authorities, tainable cities is one of the world’s greatest challenges.
regional- and central government together with international
partners can implement to improve the situation for Ethiopi-
ans in general, and reducing urban poverty in particular.
3
E xecutive summary
Introduction they are located in. The remaining 5 regions are in the process
of developing the proclamations regarding their cities.
The Urban Profiling is a systematic and structured approach
to the assessment of urban needs and response mechanisms at
city and national levels in Africa and the Arab States. Slums
The overriding aim of the study is to contribute to the ongo- The longevity of feudalism in Ethiopia prevented modern
ing efforts of countries in the region in poverty reduction at urban structures and facilities to be developed for much
all levels - city, country and region. of the last century. Lack of formal access to land rendered
much of the urban housing informal. Decay has since made
In doing so it is hopped that the assessment would provide the substandard housing more adequately defined as slums.
an opportunity to gage the gaps in implementing the Mil-
ETHIOPIA urban PROFILE - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Urban Profiling, initially implemented in over twenty There is also a huge need for new housing. Recent need
countries, is now a global programme. It is expected to pro- assessments undertaken in the major cities of the country
vide critical inputs and benefits to the implementing partners, show that there is a shortage of nine hundred thousand
enabling the management of sustainable cities, with adequate housing units. The Ministry of Works and Urban
shelter, health and basic services. Development has formulated an integrated housing
development programme comprising of condominium,
The Urban Profiling in Ethiopia includes the profile of Addis housing cooperatives and owner-builder systems that seek to
Ababa, the capital, Dire Dawa, the second largest city, and fill part of the gap in housing.
Ambo, a third level town each published as a separate report.
The themes included in the study are slum and housing, gen- Gender
der, urban environment and urban governance.
Gender inequality in Ethiopia has a long and deep rooted
history, despite enabling legislation. Indicators such as deliv-
Background eries attended by skilled health personnel (10%), and female
morbidity rates (75% vs. 22% male) (WAO, 2005) remain
Ethiopia, located in the north eastern part of Africa, has a to- poor. Women are discriminated in all aspects of life, from
tal population of 77 million. It is the second-most populous, birth, early adolescence, education, marriage, and in adult
but least urbanized, country in sub-Sahara Africa. life. Legislation forbids harmful practices, but is voided in
the constitution if the parties consent to it. With the low
The structure of Ethiopia’s economy largely depends on rain- value of female voices, discriminatory practices continue.
fed agriculture, which accounts for almost half of the Gross
Domestic Product. Cities and towns produce close to the Some progress has been witnessed in political appointments,
remaining 50 percent. Urban poverty is endemic, through but women remain marginalised in most arenas of power. 21
high unemployment (as high as 32% in Addis Ababa and Dire percent of the seats the House of People’s Representatives
Dawa), and chronic housing shortage (70% of urban popula- is held by women, but only 2 percent of high-level profes-
tion live in slums). Systemic gender disparities make women sional positions are. The government has met this challenge
more vulnerable to poverty, and impacts negatively on the with reserving seats for women in governmental forums and
socio-economic and political development of the country. programmes, allocating for instance 20 percent of the new
condominium houses to women.
Governance
Environment
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has a parlia-
mentarian form of government that comprises of nine na- Poor environmental management has led to accelerated en-
tional regional states. Both the federal government and the vironmental degradation. Dire Dawa, one of the three cities
states have legislative, judicial and executive power, but the included in this study, recently experienced a devastating
latter must not contradict the former. The house of People’s flood that killed hundreds and left thousands homeless, due
Representatives is the highest authority of the federal govern- to poor housing built in high-risk areas.
ment.
The majority of urban structures have no water and sanitation.
Four regions have issued proclamations granting an element Solid waste is not treated. The government has finished work
of self-rule for its cities and towns. Two cities (Addis Ababa on environmental legislation, enabling more enforcement, as
and Dire Dawa) have special administrative status, and re- well as improvements in infrastructure.
ports to the central government as opposed to the regions
4
INTRODUCTION
The study is based on analysis of existing data and a series The Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Federal Environ-
of interviews with all relevant urban stakeholders, including ment Authorities have also been consulted and provided
local communities and institutions, civil society, the private valuable information.
sector, development partners, academics and others.
The city level reports have also been reviewed and commented
This consultation typically results in a collective agreement by the above mentioned sections of Ministry of Works and
on priorities and their development into proposed capacity- Urban Development, in addition to three respective city level
building, and other projects, that are all aimed at urban pov- consultations. At the city level the pertinent institutions in-
erty reduction. The Urban Profiling is now being expanded cluded gender, environment protection, land, housing, infra-
from its initial 20 African and Arab countries, offering an op- structure, mayors and city managers offices, as well as capacity
portunity for comparative regional analysis. Once completed, building, education, health institutions have participated in
this series of studies will provide a framework for central and the consultation, and provided valuable feedbacks.
local authorities and urban actors, as well as donors and ex-
ternal support agencies.
Report structure
The Urban Profiling consists of three phases: 1 a general background of the urban sector in Ethiopia,
based on the findings of the country assessment report,
Phase One consists of rapid profiling of urban conditions at a desk study, interviews, and city consultations. The
national and local levels. The capital city, a medium size city background includes an urban situation analysis, data
and a small town are selected and studied to provide a repre- on urban administration and planning, economy, infor-
sentative sample in each country. The analysis focuses on four mal and the private sector, urban poverty, infrastructure,
themes: governance, slums, gender and HIV/AIDS, and the water, sanitation, health and education. (See back cover
environment. Information is collected through standard in- for a list of participants in the national consultations, and
terviews and discussions with institutions and key informants, bibliography).
in order to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats (SWOT) of the national and local urban set-ups. The 2 a synthetic assessment of four main areas governance,
findings are presented and refined during city- and national slums, gender and HIV/AIDS and environment in
consultation workshops, and consensus is reached regarding terms of the institutional set-up, regulatory framework,
priority interventions. National and city reports synthesise resource mobilisation and performance; this second sec-
the information collected and outline ways forward to reduce tion also highlights agreed priorities, and includes a list
urban poverty through holistic approaches. of identified projects;
Phase two builds on the priorities identified through pre- 3 The third and last section includes a SWOT analysis
feasibility studies and develops detailed capacity building and and outlines priority project proposals for each theme.
capital investment projects. The proposals include beneficiaries, partners, estimated
costs, objectives, activities and outputs.
Phase three implements the projects developed during the
two earlier phases, with an emphasis on skills development,
institutional strengthening and replication.
5
E T H I O P I A - P O P U L AT I O N A N D S E T T L E M E N T
Ethiopia is one of the most populated countries in Africa, with 77 million inhabitants. They are a mixed population, with
over 80 distinct ethnic groups. The largest group, the Oromo, constitutes less than a third of the population. State land
and a traditional focus on agriculture, has slowed urbanisation, and only one sixth of the population lives in urban centres.
If one discounts towns with less than 10 000 inhabitants, the proportion drops to one in thirty, or 3 percent. Ethiopia is
thus one of the least urbanised countries in Africa, but, due to its large population size, has the most people living in cities.
Ethiopia’s cities are also growing faster than the country as a whole, at 4.1 percent versus a national 2.7 percent. The cities
in the Urban Profiling study are typical examples of this development, and Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and Ambo have all
nearly tripled in size the last twenty years.
choose its own official language. Amharic is however the official language
of the government. **Numbers indicate millions of speakers.
6
E thiopia U rban C ontext It is estimated that 80 percent of the urban population
is living in sub-standard housing. Half of these are either
Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a living in shacks* or homeless. The abysmal living conditions
per capita income (GDP) of only USD $ 220. This is low even may contribute to the continued low proportion (16 %) of
by African standards, where the average is USD $ 450. Ethiopians living in urban areas.
The poverty of Ethiopia is aggravated by its huge, and growing, The majority of the urban population live in small settlements
population of 77 million people. With an average of 6 children scattered around the country. A wide definition of urban
borne by each Ethiopian woman, the country has to feed, settlements allows for a total of 925 cities. As a result, the
educate and accommodate 2 million new inhabitants each majority of cities (80%) have no more than 10 000 inhabitants.
year, or an additional 2.7 percent to the population. There are only ten cities with more than a 100 000 inhabitants.
A quarter of the urban population lives in the capital, Addis
Ethiopia’s destitution is reflected in basic demographic data. Ababa, which is 8 times larger than the second largest city of
It is the 169th out of 175 countries in the United Nations Dire Dawa.
Development Programme’s Human Development Index. Life
expectancy is 48 years. Infant mortality rates are nearly ten A trend in Ethiopia has been the relative growth of regional
percent of live births (98 per thousand). 46 percent of eligible urban centres versus the capital. It is thought that the
children enrol in primary schools, and 53 percent of the constitutional conference that established 9 autonomous
population is illiterate. provinces in 1991 has spurned regional investment, leading
to increased urban migration and an annual net growth rate of
The majority (80 %) of the population works in the agricultural 4.1 percent. The poor capacity of urban centres to serve even
sector, and contributes to 40 percent of the economy - three the existing population is a major challenge.
times the average of sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural self-
sufficiency has been a priority for the Ethiopian government *Shacks are defined as houses that need total replacement as
in its entire modern history, and is indeed the main priority indicated by the UN-HABITAT study refereed below.
goal for the current government.
Sources: Addis Ababa University, Dejene Aredo, Remittances
Previous governments failed miserably to reach this goal. and poverty in urban Ethiopia, 2005. African Economic
Authoritarian rule, central planning and collectivisation of Outlook, Ethiopia, 2007. Packard Foundation, Sahlu Haile,
Population, Development, and Environment in Ethiopia,
agriculture produced devastating famines that ravaged the 2004. US Library of Congress, Ethiopia Country Profile, 2005.
country in the 1970s and 1980s. Floods and drought continue UN-HABITAT, Ethiopia Urban Management Programme, Final
to be a major hazards. Report, 2005. World Bank, Ethiopia Country Assistance Evalua-
tion, Approach paper, 2007.
The country’s focus on agriculture sometimes came at the
cost of urban centres, which were largely ignored until the
toppling of the military Derg regime by the Tigray People’s
Liberation Front (TPLF) in 1991.
7
Rural families often
also need their chil-
dren to contribute
to the family chores.
As a result, school
attendance in rural
areas is a mere 27
percent, compared
to an urban rate of
74 percent.
With little or
no industry and
manu-facturing in
rural areas, the ur-
ban centres are the
main areas for non-
agricultural produc-
tion in Ethiopia.
Slow privatisation
of governmental
businesses, state
ETHIOPIA URBAN PROFILE - BACKGROUND
ownership of land
and underdeveloped
E thiopia U rban urban micro-financing mechanisms continue to hamper eco-
nomic activity, and contributes to an unemployment rate of
S I T U AT I O N A N A LY S I S 50 percent of all urban men between 15 and 30 years.
While Ethiopia is one of Africa’s least urbanised countries by Cognizant of these interrelated and critical problems of cities
proportion, it has some of the largest urban centres in real and towns, the Government of Ethiopia has developed an
numbers. Over ten million Ethiopians live in cities, and over integrated industry and urban development package to be
a fifth of those live in the capital Addis Ababa. implemented until 2010.
60 percent of the Ethiopian economy is generated from the According to this package employment creation is put as a
non-agricultural sector, mainly by manufacturing and indus- central issue as it is emphasized in the urban development
tries in the larger cities. The average for sub-Saharan Africa is policy. The government has already taken steps to improve
estimated at 85 percent. land regulation, and facilitate land acquisition.
Low economic activity, a growing population, inadequate The question remains how the government will balance this
maintenance, and hap-hazard upgrading has over the last 40 liberalisation with the informal settlements, who often oc-
years rendered Ethiopian cities unable to provide for their cupy the idle land.
inhabitants. Urban reform remains one of Ethiopia’s greatest
challenges. Sources: Centre for the Study of African Economies, Paper
201, The Nature of Unemployment in Urban Ethiopia, 2004.
Ethiopia Ministry of Finance and Economic Development,
80 percent of the housing stock needs either upgrading or MDG Needs Assessment Synthesis Report, 2005. Ethiopian
replacement. Only half of the urban structures have private Ministry of Health, Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey,
or shared water connections. The government estimates that 2005. Ethiopia Ministry of Health/World Bank, A Country Sta-
tus Report on Health and Poverty, 2004. Young Lives, Working
35 percent of urban solid waste is never collected, while only
paper no. 20, Rural-Urban Disparities in Ethiopia.
ten percent of the population reports using a municipal waste
collection system. 70 percent of the road network in the
capital is gravel, slightly better than the national average of
85 percent.
DEMOGRAPHY
Access to health facilities are by most accounts far better in
urban areas. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health acknowledges Ethiopia is an old country with a very young population. 45
this in its country health report, where it states that “urban- percent of its 76 million people are under 15 years. Large
rural differences are greater than rich-poor in terms of illness families, or rather, large dependency ratios, is closely linked
prevalence”. For instance, 40 percent of urban births were at- with poverty. If the dependency ratio increases with one,
tended by a health care professional, as opposed to 3 percent the probability of falling into poverty increases with 30 per-
of rural births. cent.* Some international aid organisations think population
growth will become the most important challenge for the
Education is free in Ethiopia, and primary school is compul- Ethiopian Government in the future. Life expectancy at birth
sory. Access is again far better in urban areas, as is attendance. is 44 years; 6 years shorter than the sub-continental average.
8
It is estimated that 40 percent of the population lives below Ethiopia is famous for its Orthodox Christian tradition, dat-
the national poverty line of USD $ 1 a day, adjusted for pur- ing back to AD 340. It has an estimated 30 million follow-
chasing power parity. As much as a third of household spend- ers, or about 40 percent of the population. It is predominant
ing is non-monetary; informal trade for goods or services. in the central and northern parts. Islam has a similar strong
following, albeit in the southern and western parts of the
The national poverty reduction strategy, PASDEP, and the country. Christian Protestantism is the third largest faith in
MDG needs assessment report both state that the Millen- the country, with an estimated 10 million followers. There
nium Development Goal 1, of eradicating extreme poverty are also a number of followers of other faiths, from Roman
by 2015, can be reached with a continued national growth Catholicism, Ethiopian Judaism and traditional beliefs.
of 7 percent. In light of the current poverty, the small private
sector, the high dependency on agriculture and the corre- Sources: Alem Habtu, Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia, 2003.
sponding vulnerability to natural hazards, this seems like a EarthTrends, Ethiopia Country Profile, 2003. Mongabay.com,
very optimistic scenario. Ethiopia Country Profile, 2005. Ethiopia Ministry of Finance
and Economic Development, MDG Needs Assessment Syn-
thesis Report, 2005. One World, Ethiopia Country Data, 2006.
One in six Ethiopians live in urban settlements, but the major- *SIDA, Ethiopia Country Analysis, 2003.
ity of such settlements have no more than 2 000 inhabitants.
Urban centres grow at a faster pace than the national average,
4.1 percent versus 2.7 percent, respectively. The difference of
1.4 percent is thought to be the result of net migration to E D U C AT I O N
urban areas, rather than increased fertility.
Education is the responsibility of each of the nine states in
Amharic is the official language of the government in Ethio- Ethiopia, but should follow the federal norm. Coordination
pia, but each of the more than 80 languages in the country between the central government and the regions is reportedly
has equal status under the constitution. Each of the 9 states poor, and remains a key challenge for educational develop-
can choose its own working language, and 19 are presently ment in the country.
being used in primary education.
Adult literacy is estimated at 29 percent, with female rates
Many can be placed in larger language groups. There are four (18%) far lower than male (40%). 33 percent of children
main families; the Semitic, Cushitic, Omoric and Nilo-Saha- between 5-17 years attend formal school*. (36% of boys and
ran. Two major ethnic groups, the Oromo and the Amhara 30% of girls.) Another five attend informal institutions, such
constitute over 60 percent of the population. The politically as religious schools. The majority of children (56%) has never
dominant Tigray comprises 6 percent. attended any form of schooling.
Urban areas score far higher than rural areas with regard to
schooling. Here, 74 percent of eligible children attend formal
schooling (over 90% in Addis Ababa), with another 9 percent
attending informal schools. The main reason for not attend-
ing schooling in urban areas is high fees. Money, in the form
of work, is also the main reason for dropping out.
It is unlikely that Ethiopia will achieve the 2nd and 3rd Mil-
lennium Development Goals on the national level. (Achieving
universal primary education and gender equality by 2015.) The
9
Ethiopia MDG Needs Assessment Report states that “despite Status Report on Health describes the task of reaching the
remarkable efforts”, “it is clear that more needs to be done”. Millennium Development Goal on maternal mortality of
450 as “daunting”
Ethiopia has nearly doubled its spending also in education
the last ten years, but with its growing population, structural Ethiopia is considered somewhat spared the explosive HIV
bottlenecks, poor infrastructure and low productivity, the / AIDS infections in other sub-Saharan countries. Official
government have to expend “extra efforts just to keep existing numbers indicate an infection rate of 4.4 percent of the
pace”** population. Rural infections match the national average, but
urban infections are estimated to be as high as 15.6 percent
*UNDP Human Development Report states 36%. in the capital, and 12.7 percent nationwide.
The health-sector is also the responsibility of the states, but antenatal clinics, and voluntary counselling and testing cen-
the government owns and runs most hospitals. As with edu- tres support this finding, but are statistically not significant.
cation, coordination between the central government and the It is therefore difficult to say for certain how fast the epidemic
regions is poor, and constitutes another challenge for the is spreading in the country.
development of the country.
HIV / AIDS is heavily correlated to a secondary tuberculosis
Governmental expenditure per capita is estimated at USD $ infection. As many as half of all Ethiopians are thought to
4.50, compared to a sub-continental average of USD $ 10. carry a latent infection that is held off by a healthy immune
Only 48 percent of the population have physical access to pri- system. An increase in HIV / AIDS infection could therefore
mary health care (ie, they live more than 10 kms away, twice the bring an explosive increase in the number of tuberculosis
international standard), and the majority (90%) walk there. infections.
2 000 doctors work nationwide, translating into a doctor to
patient ratio of 1 : 38 000. Every 4 900 inhabitants share one The government have been assessing ways to address these
hospital bed. challenges in light of reaching for the Millennium Develop-
ment Goals. It has doubled health spending over the last dec-
Maternal mortality is among the highest in sub-Saharan Afri- ade; built 28 hospitals, nearly doubled the number of health
ca, at 1 800 per 100 000 births. It may even be higher, as only centres from 257 to 412, and established 1311 health posts.
a minority of births are delivered at health care facilities. The It has also liberalised private health care. The greatest effect
great prevalence (80%) of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) of this can be seen in Addis Ababa, where 17 (of 30) hospitals
increases the risk of complications during childbirth, and and 320 (of 428) clinics are private.
may contribute to the high number of fatalities. The Country
10
Increased spending has brought some results. Most indica- sewerage system in 1994, a quarter of all housing units had
tors shows some improvement, but are still far away from no toilets whatsoever**. Combined with informal housing,
the Millennium Development Goals. Under-five mortality, one can assume that the number residencies without toilets is
for instance, has decreased by 20 percent the last five years, closer to 60-70 percent.
but is still far short of the 50 percent target in the Millennium
Development Goals. Similarly, only 55 percent of formal housing units have access
to private or shared water connections. A full 30-40 percent
Sources: Alem Habtu, Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia, 2003. Ethi- of the urban water supply is lost due to faulty and leaky pip-
opia Ministry of Health/World Bank, A Country Status Report ing.
on Health and Poverty, 2004. US Library of Congress, Ethiopia
Country Profile, 2005.
The government introduced a National Water Resources
Management Policy and Strategy in 2000, and incorporated a
W ater and sanitation Universal Access Plan for water in its second national poverty
reduction paper (PASDEP) in 2002. The private sector have
Ethiopia has an ample supply of water, with large lakes, 12 also been encouraged to participate. The digging of wells have
river basins, and a sizable underground water reservoir. The dramatically improved as a result, with prices dropping from
problem is rather the utilization and distribution of this re- 50 00 Birr to 15 000 (USD $ 5 500 to 1 700), respectively).*
source.
82 percent of the urban population have access to an im- Sources: *African Development Bank, African Economic
proved water source (12% rural), and 33 percent have access Outlook, Ethiopia, 2007. EarthTrends, Ethiopia Country Profile,
to sanitation. Access to water match the sub-Sahara African 2003. Ethiopia Ministry of Finance and Economic Develop-
ment, MDG Needs Assessment Synthesis Report, 2005. **Of-
average, while sanitation falls below half of what their neigh- fice for the Revision of Addis Ababa Master Plan Environmen-
bours have. tal Profile and Environmental Management of Addis Ababa,
2002. UN-HABITAT, Ethiopia Urban Management Programme,
Access to clean water and sanitation is closely linked to other Final Report, 2005.
development indicators. Women, particularly girls, often have
the task of collecting water. A near water source will increase
security and free up time for other activities, such as educa-
tion. A safe water source will also halt the spread of disease, government and
and lower the indirect costs that come with lost productivity.
It also makes women less vulnerable to kidnapping and rape. A D M I N I S T R AT I O N
The MDG Needs Assessment Report estimates that proper Ethiopia is a parliamentary democracy with federal elements,
sanitation, clean water (and hand washing) would lead to as outlined in the 1994 constitution.
a 95 percent drop in diarrhoea. One fifth of all under-five
moralities in the country is attributed to this condition. Sev- Parliament (Shengo) is divided between the upper constitu-
eral studies indicate that ignorance about the links between tional House of the Federation (108 seats), and the lower
hygiene and health are widespread*. legislative House of People’s Representatives (547 seats).
Urban deficiencies in water and sanitation is mostly due to The upper house is elected on a five-year basis by the 9 State
neglect. In Addis Ababa, the only city in the country with a Councils. It was established to resolve conflicts between the
11
for approval. The president and vice-president of
the supreme court is also elected this way.
12
a 15-year privatisation scheme. The federation collects 85 per- T H E E C O N O M I C S I T U AT I O N
cent of the national income. The country is therefore following
only a moderated version of the socialist policy that has been Ethiopia has experienced a positive economic growth the last
in force since 1974. ten years (6%), following the global economic trend. In 2007,
the economy increased nearly 10 percent. Taking natural haz-
Many reports on corruption give anecdotal evidence of its ab- ards and population growth into account, the average drops to
sence in Ethiopia. UN DESA refers to a number of studies that 3.6 percent, pulled down by a drought in 2002.
“have alluded to the disciplined culture of the Ethiopian society,
which does not encourage corruption”. Yet the country continu- The government is the main provider of non-agricultural goods
ally scores very low on the annual Transparency International and service in the country. It owns and operates everything
corruption indexes. Where 1 is highly corrupt and 10 is highly from cafes and shops, to soap and leather factories, as well as
clean, Ethiopia scores a paltry 2.5, just 0.3 points from fa- national utilities.
mously corrupt countries like Nigeria and Kenya. It is thought
land registration, governmental licenses, and fees are the main Agriculture is the largest single contributor to the economy,
avenues for illicit payments. accounting for 40 percent. The other main sector (49%) is
services, which includes tourism (14%), trade, transport, pub-
The 2005 elections were criticised by the opposition, as well lic administration and defence. Industry, including food and
as international observers, for fraud, persecution of the op- beverage, textiles, leather, manufacturing and mining, con-
position, and violation of human rights. 40 people died in tributes 12 percent. Industries and manufacturing is generally
skirmishes, and thousands - including journalists and teachers confined to urban areas, in particular Addis Ababa.
- were arrested for treason.
The main export earners are coffee (40%), leather (8%), khat
The controversial elections was dominated by the sitting Tig- (12%), oil seeds (12%), pulses (4%), and gold (4%). Horticul-
ray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its affiliated parties. ture is a growing industry.
It retained control of both houses of parliament, with 372
of the 547 lower house seats. The opposition, however, won Tax revenue has risen to about 14 percent of governmental
control of the Addis Ababa city-administration. income, after streamlining tax laws, regulation and rates, and
introducing a broad-based Value Added Tax. Customs revenue
contributes 27 percent. International aid is contributing about
23 percent, or USD $ 1 billion; up from USD $ 700 million in
Sources: Alem Habtu, Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia, 2003. 2002. International and domestic borrowing provided about 5
*Emanuele Fantini, State formation in Ethiopia, 2006. Fekre-
mariam Abebe, Federalism in Ethiopia. UN Department of
percent, as all budgets the last decade have been in deficit.
Economic and Social Affairs, Ethiopia Public Administration
Profile, 2004. UN Development Programme, Assessment of Petroleum and food are the major imports, making Saudi
Development Results, Ethiopia, 2006. US Library of Congress, Arabia the main supplier (30%), followed by China and Italy
Ethiopia Country Profile, 2005. **World Bank, Wordea Studies,
2002
(6% each). Ethiopia imports for nearly quadruple the value
of its exports, and has been maintaining its large trade deficit
since the early 1990s. In 2002-3 the imbalance was estimated
at USD $ 1.5 billion.
13
ETHIOPIA URBAN PROFILE - BACKGROUND
Governmental spending is divided between defence (22%) grown at about 2.5 percent per year, and the country is no
education (9%), agriculture and food security (16%), roads more food secure. Only between 10-20 percent of all land is
(11%), health (5%), and water and sanitation (4%). In total, being farmed. Irrigation other than rain is hardly used, de-
the government spends 45 percent of its budget on poverty- spite abundant national water resources.
reducing mechanisms.*
Continued state ownership of land, massive population
Ethiopia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is USD $ 17 bil- growth, promotion of traditional rain-fed farming, unsus-
lion, with a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of three times tainable land-use practices, combined with large distances to
that value, at USD $ 55 billion. The PPP is important, as markets and a small private sector has prevented the policy
the international baseline of measuring poverty is estimating from being an engine of industrial growth. Donors have criti-
how many people live on less than one US dollar per day. In cised the policy, and recommended an evaluation of ADLI
Ethiopia this number would be 80 per cent of the popula- within the poverty reduction framework**.
tion. Taking into account that a US dollar buys more goods
in Ethiopia due to cheaper prices, one calculates the PPP. 30 An example of the extent of governmental intervention in the
US cents will buy the same basic goods in Ethiopia that a US business sector can be seen in its mobile phone services, also a
dollar buys elsewhere. The number of people living on the state owned enterprise. There are only about 600 000 mobile
PPP equivalent of a US dollar is therefore 40 percent. The phone subscribers in Ethiopia, or 1 percent of the population.
latter is the official poverty rate in the country. In Kenya, a country with similar geography and a third of the
population, two private operators have 8 million subscribers,
Income inequality (Gini coefficient) is 30 percent, which is or a coverage of 25 percent. Ethiopia is planning to improve
low. (Sweden is 25, and Kenya is 42). Inequality is higher in its coverage to 10 percent by 2010.
urban areas (38%) than in rural (26%).
* Other numbers are often cited - and intermingled - depend-
The private sector remains small in Ethiopia. It is complicated ing on whether one looks at the sector share of poverty-related
to register a business, financing is difficult, and companies expenditures, of total government expenditures, or of Gross Do-
affiliated with the government are said to be favoured. The mestic Product. Sector share of total governmental expenditures
government has privatised a number of businesses, but the is used here. For instance, the share of educational expenditure
process has been slow, and marred by allegations of corrup- varies from 5-20 percent in different reports.
tion and sales to political sympathisers.* The World Bank
Institute ranked Ethiopia as the second-worst country in the Sources: African Development Bank, Africa Economic Outlook,
world for conducting business in 2003. Ethiopia, 2007. CIA World Factbook, Ethiopia, 2008. MoFED,
PASDEP, 2006. Jens Martens, The Precarious State of Public
Agricultural self-sufficiency has been a priority of the govern- Finance, 2007. **SIDA, Ethiopia Country Analysis, 2003. US Li-
brary of Congress, Ethiopia Country Profile, 2005.
ment of Ethiopia since the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in
1974. The current government made the policy of Agricul-
tural Development Led Industrialisation (ADLI) a national
priority in 1993. Since then, agricultural output has only
14
E X T E R N A L A S S I S TA N C E Donors have since concentrated their efforts on the local level,
through the Protection of Basic Services Program (PBS) in
A N D A I D C O O R D I N AT I O N June 2006. Its reviews have been positive, and is now the main
instrument for development aid in Ethiopia. The shift from
Ethiopia has a long history of international relations, and was a Direct Budget Support to Protection of Basic Services was ac-
founding member of the United Nations. The last century saw quiesced by the Ethiopian government, as it has been a stated
many powers compete for influence, and the United States, governmental priority to decentralise authority to the regions.
Britain, Italy and Russia have all been partners with the Ethio-
pian government at different times. A tangible outcome of the coordination effort is the govern-
ment-directed national poverty reduction strategy, the PAS-
Ethiopia was one of the first African countries to receive formal DEP. Progress is supported by the Development Assistance
support from a wide variety of nations. Sweden, for instance, Group (DAG), the Ethiopian donor coordination forum.
started its bilateral aid in Ethiopia in 1954. Since then, coop- The group also monitors progress through quarterly bench-
eration and aid has varied according to the cold-war politics marks. Activities span all major sectors, including institutional
of the time The demise of the Derg regime in 1991, and the reform, agricultural development, education, food security,
subsequent establishment of democracy, improved modern- gender, health, social and rural development, and water and
day relations with the west, and a number of donors have since sanitation.
entered the country.
Urban support is inherent in many of the initiatives, and com-
Like in other African nations, increased aid brings challenges mercial institutions of the capital have been supported through
as well as benefits. Donor focus may not be what the country the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial As-
need, and reporting mechanisms may vary from donor to do- sociations. A position paper on the role of private sector led
nor. A lot of time and resources are risked wasted on learning growth in Ethiopia has been submitted as a basis for further
the different reporting systems on projects that were may not policy interventions.
have been relevant to begin with.
Coordination between donors and the government of Ethiopia
The government started aid harmonisation in 1996, with sector is therefore said to be good. Remaining challenges continue to
wide approaches in education, health and infrastructure. The be fertiliser-, telecommunications- and financial sector reform.
idea was then expanded to other sectors, leading ultimately to Coordination between the government and the regions is
an overall Ethiopian Harmonisation Action Plan in 2004. The reportedly less impressive, and hampers efforts at the local level.
plan corresponds with the Paris Declaration, an internationally
agreed guide to aid harmonization. Sources: Development Assistance Group Ethiopia, Annual
Report, 2005. GEG, Ethiopia: Aid, Ownership, and Sovereignty,
The aim to increase aid effectiveness by increasing the partici- 2007, MoFED, PASDEP, 2006-2010. MoFED, Bilateral Donor Co-
pation of recipient countries in project planning, strengthening ordination, Experience of the Federal Government of Ethiopia,
2005. MoFED, Ethiopia Country Paper on Harmonisation and
national institutions, mainstreaming procedures and avoiding Alignment, 2005. Fisseha Aberra, Partnership, Donor Perform-
parallel project implementation. Good governance, account- ance and Harmonization in the context of the SDPRP. SIDA,
ability and transparency is key to the declaration, as witnessed Ethiopia Country Analysis, 2003. US Library of Congress, Ethio-
negatively in 2006, when donors withdrew direct budget sup- pia Country Profile, 2005.
port following sub-standard parliamentary elections.
15
GOVERNANCE
make it difficult to evaluate the administrative status of the 40 to 20%), double the provision of housing and basic serv-
925 municipalities in Ethiopia. In a rare Ethiopian munici- ices (from 30 to 65%), reduce slum areas (from 70 to 35%),
pal review, the World Bank recommended that regions: a) annual building of a 100 000 new houses, annual provision
Reform the legislative and intergovernmental fiscal systems of 3 800 hectares of land new land, and an annual growth of
through which municipalities will function and b) rebuild 12 000 micro and small enterprises by the end of the PAS-
all aspects of municipal capacity to carry out local authority DEP period in 2010.
mandates.
Little mention is made in the PASDEP of how to increase ur-
This work has since been done, according to the current ban democracy, except that municipalities should be “models
(2006-1010) Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Develop- of participatory democracy”. It is clear, however, that it needs
ment to End Poverty (PASDEP). The government has also to get done. Publicly elected city officials is key to achieve
drafted a National Urban Development Policy Framework, political, developmental and socio-economic objectives of
where the overall aim of the urban policy is to “provide ef- the PASDEP. This is confirmed by international studies*. It
ficient and effective public services to residents, complement and is also critical to ensure meaningful community participa-
facilitate rural development, and are models of participatory de- tion, and gain the trust of investors, development partners
mocracy and build accelerated economic opportunities that cre- and stakeholders. Gaps in municipal personnel policies also
ate jobs”. It calls for further decentralisation, improvement of need to be addressed, to attract qualified professional staff.
access to basic necessities and improved urban management.
The editor has been unable to find a copy of this framework. Sources: CIDA, Urban Development Partnership Project,
2006. *Kenneth Davey, Urban Management: The Challenge of
Remaining challenges are: 1) To strengthen municipal govern- Growth, 1997. MoFED, PASDEP 2006-2010. World Bank, Munici-
ments and administrative institutions, 2) To invest in urban pal Decentralization in Ethiopia, 2001.
infrastructure, 3) To develop urban financing mechanisms
and strengthen small scale enterprises, 4) To improve the
regulatory environment for urban land, and 5) To increase
availability of industrial land. T H E I N S T I T U T I O N A L S E T- U P
16
• The Federal Ministry of Works and Urban Development A G REED P RIORI T IE S
(MWUD) is responsible for studies on urbanisation pat- • Holding municipal and kebele elections as planned.
terns, training and classification of urban centres. • Improve planning, budgeting and implementing capacity at
local level, including participatory approaches and vulner-
• The National Urban Planning Institute, organised under able groups.
MWUD, prepares physical urban development plans. • Clarify the status of urban authority in the regional hierarchy.
• Finalise legislation on urban governance , service delivery
• The Urban Development Support Services, also organised and funding mechanisms.
under MWUD prepares urban human planning, such as • Support small scale business establishment.
financial planning, human resources and capacity build- • Simplify land regulation and access to land.
ing. • Upgrade informal settlements and urban infrastructure.
• Municipalities have no mention in the constitution - only • Outdated, inconsistent or poorly implemented regulations,
regional governments and districts do. The Ethiopian go- procedures and manuals are common.
vernment have implemented a significant number of laws
regulating municipalities since. Remaining legislation is • Municipalities have limited mandate over their resources,
now expected at the regional level. Major laws include: leading to poor revenue generation capacity.
• Proclamations no. 41/91 and 4/95 gives the Ministry of Sources: UNCHS Expert Group Meeting on Urban Poverty and
Works and Urban Development responsibilities in urban Governance Indicators, 1999. World Bank, Municipal Decen-
tralization in Ethiopia, 2001.
development, and reaffirms regions as the chief municipal
authority.
• The Derg famously nationalised all land in proclamation • In spite of the responsibilities of municipal administrations
no. 47 of 1975. It established the various levels of urban in service delivery, tax and fee setting is done by regional
dwellers associations (kebeles) in no. 4 of 1976. These deci- governments.
sions have been adopted by the current government.
• Poor infrastructure management: Almost all cities and
• The Imperial Proclamation no. 74/45 still governs munici- towns of the country are characterized by poor provision
pal revenue sources. and management of infrastructure. One of the key factors
contributing to this lack of performance stems from weak
Sources: MoFED, PASDEP 2006-2010. World Bank, Municipal organization and capacity of municipalities.
Decentralization in Ethiopia, 2001.
17
SLUMS
and the Urban Institute indicates that only 20 percent of the institute (UI), Capacity Building for Decentralized Service De-
livery (CBDSD) MoFED, PASDEP 2006-2010. ***MoFED, MDG
urban population can afford even the traditional Chika mud Needs Assessment Report, 2006. *UN-HABITAT, Ethiopia Urban
and wood housing**. Sector Needs, 2005.
18
• Regional Bureaus and Zonal Departments for Works and AGREED PRIORITIES
Urban Development provide support to urban centres • Improve the capacity of the planning and implementing
through direct technical support in the areas of prepara- institutions:
tion and approval of physical plans and budgets, as well • Continue the development of zonal and topographic maps
as follow-up of their implementation, personnel and for all urban centres, with existing land use and cadastre.
financial administration. • Establish urban plans in all 925 urban centres in Ethiopia
using a participatory approach.
• Urban Dweller Associations (UDAs) are responsible • Establish implementation strategies for the above plans,
taking into account local capacity, local economic develop-
for housing and economic activity within their zones. ment, informal settlements, and upgrading alternatives.
There are up to three levels of UDAs in each city. • Improve local democracy, governance, transparency and
accountability in all urban centres.
Sources: NUPI online profile (nupi.gov.et), 2008. • Improve the capacity of federal and the regional planning
institutions to monitor implementation.
• Equip towns and cities with land information system. For
smaller towns it could be a simple manual register, or com-
puter database in Excel. For medium and big cities, a larger,
online system might be feasible.
R E G U L AT O R Y F R A M E W O R K
T E N U RE A N D S E C U RI T Y
SYSTEMS
• There is an integrated housing development programme N°1 Infrastructure Production and provision
which is being implemented.
19
GENDER AND HIV / AIDS
ONGOING PROJECTS T H E I N S T I T U T I O N A L S E T- U P
Gender mainstreaming • The National Policy on Women (1993) established a
The Development Assistance Group is a coordinating body among interna-
Women Affairs Departments in each Ministry, Regional
tional donors in support of wider Ethiopian development goals. The DAG has
supported the development of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality, Women’s Bureaus in each Regional Administrative Coun-
the principal policy document for gender strategy. It is currently continuing its cil, and a Women’s Coordination Desk at zonal and
efforts in mainstreaming gender concerns in national planning processes, like district levels. The bureaus suffer from lack of mandate,
the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP),
funding and staffing, leading to low mainstreaming of
the adaption of the Millennium Development Goals for Ethiopia, and budget
allocations. The Gender Budget Analysis is among the tools supported to iden- gender in federal and regional policy making.
tify gaps in the educational, health, and agricultural sectors.
20
• A Ministry of Women’s Affairs has been established, re- AGREED PRIORITIES
placing a lower graded unit in the Prime Minister’s Office,
and is responsible for policy formulation, capacity build- • Change the religious and customary law preference in per-
sonal and family relations section 34 of the constitution.
ing and advocacy.
• Revoke proclamation 40/96, to formally allow NGOs and
CBOs to engage in savings and credit cooperations.
• Several NGOs focus on gender issues. The include The • Need for capacity building at all levels
Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), the • Raise awareness on existing rights of women, and opportu-
Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA), nities for women in need. In particular this should be done
and the Centre for Research Training and Information within the government, police and the judiciary.
for Women in Development (CERTWID). A number of • Economic empowerment of women through implement-
Women’s Associations exist for different regions, districts ing the gender aspect in existing government plans and
project.
and urban centres.
• Increase accountability by federal and regional institutions
on gender mainstreaming.
Sources: Julie Newton, University of Bath, Gender Mainstream- • Disaggregate all government statistics on gender (and
ing in Ethiopia, 2007. SIDA, Towards Gender Equality in Ethio- urban) based variables where relevant.
pia, 2003.
EMPOWERMENT AND
R E G U L AT O R Y F R A M E W O R K A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y
• The National Policy on Women (1993) aimed to main- • The customary law option in the constitution is a huge
stream gender into existing laws and government policies, barrier to the implementation of subsequent gender-
as well as change discriminatory practices and improve sensitive laws. The constitution was designed to be hard
awareness. to change, needing a full majority in a full majority of
regions before finally getting a full majority in the House
• The 1994 constitution (Articles 7 and 35) affirms the of the Federation.
rights of women, and accord women the same rights as
men. • Few development indicators are dis-aggregated according
to sex, and it is hard to measure the full extent of gender
• The paragraph is contradicted by the preceding Article based discrimination, or even the progress to reduce it.
34. It states that the constitution “shall not preclude the
adjudication of disputes relating to personal and family laws • It is clear that gender based discrimination is both a top-
in accordance with religious or customary laws, with consent down challenge as far as lack of budget allocation, policy
of the parties”. The equality granted under the constitu- implementation and law enforcement is concerned, but
tion is thus subject to discriminatory traditional laws, if also a challenge of ignorance and resistance to change in
the parties want it. the population as a whole, even among women.
Sources: Constitution of Ethiopia, 1994. Julie Newton, Univer- GENDER Project proposal Page 29
sity of Bath, Gender Mainstreaming in Ethiopia, 2007. MoFED, HIV/AIDS Public Mobilisation and Participation Program*
PASDEP 2006-2010. SIDA, Towards Gender Equality in Ethiopia,
2003. N°1 (UGGIP)
*Sub-sections of the interrelated Urban Good Governance Im-
provement Package, UGGIP.
21
THE ENVIRONMENT
ETHIOPIA URBAN PROFILE - ENVIRONMENT
Ethiopia’s national goal of becoming food secure through the Environmental degradation is costly in all aspects. Erosion,
agriculture-led industrial development is seriously threatened droughts and flooding lowers agricultural output, directly
by environmental degradation. Agricultural productivity threatening the national development agenda. The 2003
per capita is less today than it was in 1995. High popula- drought was the worst in the country’s history, rendering a
tion growth increase the strain on all natural resources. Soil fifth (13 million) of the population dependent on food aid.
is impaired through deforestation, collection of biomass for
fuel, and erosion, water through sewage and fertilisers, and Indirect costs add to the burden. Substandard housing is vul-
air from burning of solid fuels, transport and industrial pol- nerable to collapse during landslides. Lack of drainage creates
lutants. breeding grounds for infectious diseases, and floods a perfect
distribution mechanism. Funds intended for development
The discussion on environmental issues in Ethiopia too often have to be redirected towards emergency aid, disrupting years
focus solely on rural land degradation. Urban and rural en- of positive growth.
vironmental conditions are intrinsically linked. For instance,
two thirds of the urban households use rural fire wood or The wide causes and implications of environmental degra-
charcoal for cooking. Urban food security is dependent upon dation demands increased enforcement of existing laws and
a stable rural agricultural production. policies, but also better coordination with other sectors such
as family planning, health, education, gender, and employ-
Urban centres also have unique environmental problems. Few ment.
inhabitants in slums have direct access to water, and public
taps, often kilometres away, are the only source of water. The environmental section of the national Plan for Acceler-
The effect of this is impacting heavily on the productivity of ated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP)
women, who are responsible for water collection. The sanita- aims to “create a self-reliant population with a high quality of
tion problem of slum areas becomes more evident when the life in a productive environment, which assures equity between
disposal of human excreta is analysed. Many slum dwellers genders and among generations”. Six goals are specifically tar-
don’t even have the simplest form of a latrine. Discharging geted, including gender equity, community participation,
remains to rivers, ditches and pavements is common. In Ad- sustainable land use, clean up of existing waste, and ensuring
dis Ababa, 25 percent of the formal houses have no toilet future sustainable waste practices.
facility whatsoever.
Gender equity is mentioned throughout the Environment
section (and indeed the entire PASDEP) but just how it will
ONGOING PROJECTS be done is not clear. Gender issues are notably absent from
Urban gardening reclaims wasteland “major achievements” , and even in the “challenges encountered”
USAID is supporting a project where idle urban land is converted into agricul-
section.
tural production, managed by women or youth affected by HIV/AIDS. Close
to 10 000 beneficiaries have been given a plot, tools, seeds, and training by The PASDEP is mainly targeting the rural environment, but
local partners. The vegetables provide a vital source of nutrients for personal urban centres are mentioned with regard to waste handling.
and family consumption, and surplus production (and compost), can be sold
for a profit. Apart from its environmental impact, it is seen as one of the most
Some progress is mentioned, and 65 municipalities will de-
successful HIV/AIDS care programmes in the country. See www.irinnews.org velop and implement “Municipal Solid Waste Management
for more information. Plans that mainstream gender equity” Urban centres will pre-
22
sumably also benefit from more capacity building, and the AGREED PRIORITIES
enactment of industrial Environment Management Systems.
• Build the capacity of the Environmental Protection Agency
so that it plays a leading role in environmental protection.
Sources: Sahlu Haile, DLPF, Population, Development and En-
vironment in Ethiopia, 2005. MoFED, PASDEP 2006-2010. SIDA, • Capacitate federal, regional and municipal institutions on
Towards Gender Equality in Ethiopia, 2003. the concept of environmental sustainability.
• Enforce existing policies.
• Raise awareness on sustainable environment practices.
• Improve basic infrastructure– drainage and sewerage sys-
tems, and sanitary landfill facilities with sorting mechanisms.
T H E I N S T I T U T I O N A L S E T- U P • Procure equipment and machinery for waste collection and
disposal.
• The federal Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is • Boost the role of the private sector in terms of waste collec-
responsible for environmental policy formulation, over- tion disposal and recycling.
seeing implementation and capacity building.
• All governmental ministries and agencies, like Health, Wa- • The Ethiopian Water Resource Management, and
ter Resources, Road Authority and the Electric and Power
Corporation have established Environmental Units. This • The Public Health Proclamation.
procedure has been replicated at the regional level.
• A number of guidelines have also been established, like
• Ministry of Health and their regional counterparts are the Guidelines on Enforcement and Compliance in In-
responsible for ensuring sanitation in cities and towns. dustrial Pollution, on the Procurement of Environment
Friendly Goods, on Integrated Pollution Prevention and
• Urban administrations have sections for environment Control, on Pollution Release and Transfer Registry, on
protection. Industrial Waste Handling and Land Filling and Manage-
ment, and for undertaking sector specific Environmental
• The Forum for Environment is an umbrella organisation Impact Assessment on development projects in 21 sec-
for individuals and NGOs working in the environment tors.
sector.
• Regional authorities have drafted and approved regional
• The Network for Environmental and Sustainable Devel- environmental laws and guidelines, mirroring the na-
opment in Ethiopia provides a forum for NGOs and the tional framework.
government.
Sources: MoFED, PASDEP 2006-2010. SIDA, Towards Gender
Sources: MoFED, PASDEP 2006-2010. SIDA, Towards Gender Equality in Ethiopia, 2003.
Equality in Ethiopia, 2003.
R E S O U R C E M O B I L I S AT I O N
R E G U L AT O R Y F R A M E W O R K
• Environmental considerations are included in govern-
Two articles in the constitution deals with environmental af- mental plans and policies by regulation.
fairs (Art. 44 and 92), with the former stating that “All persons
have the right to a clean and healthy environment.” A number • The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) aims to
of policy documents have since been prepared, notably: increase the coping capacity of vulnerable groups during
droughts, without sacrificing livelihoods, education or
• The Federal policy on Natural Resources, health. Focusing mainly on rural targets, urban residents
may benefit through strengthening of urban dweller as-
• The Environment and the Conservation Strategy of sociations and the PSNP Micro Finance Mechanism.
Ethiopia,
• Non-Governmental Organisations involved in the en-
• The Environmental policy of Ethiopia, vironmental sector account for around 5 percent of the
total NGO involvement. If one counts water supply,
• The Environmental Pollution Control Proclamation, sanitation and urban involvement in this sector, the share
rises to 15 percent.
• The Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation, Source: The World Bank, A country Status Report on Health and
Poverty, 2004.
• The Environmental Organs Establishment Proclamation,
23
S trengths W eak nesses O pportunities T h re at s P riorities
D E C E N T R A L I Z AT I O N A N D D E V O L U T I O N O F P O W E R
• Existence of • Poor capacity of local • Global institutions and • City governments • Clarify the status of ur-
decentralization policy. governments. federal government may lose focus ban authority in the
• Focus on empowering • Local governments do are keen to support due to many regional hierarchy.
local governments, e.g. not have strong control decentralization and competing • Finalise legislation on
municipal regulations over their resources. devolution of power. demands. urban governance , ser-
in the four regions. • Constantly changing • The recently completed • Capacity building vice delivery and fund-
• Existence of local structures. study on deepening might take time. ing mechanisms.
governments. decentralization
• Many municipal tasks are can help designing
• Preparation is being governed by higher level strategies.
made to hold municipal bodies - regions, woredas.
and kebele elections. • Abundant global
• Absence of city/ experience and
town councils. best practices.
• Limited power of city/ • Commitment of the
town administrations federal government.
(e.g. tax levying).
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
• The Ministry of Works and • Lack of performance • Performance • Poor motivation • Improve planning, budg-
Urban Development is standards. improvement is of staff. eting and implement-
putting great attention • Absence city level instrumental to • Limited capacity ing capacity at local
to capacity building and ombudsmen. achieve sustainable of the leadership. level, including partici-
working towards this end. development patory approaches and
• Absence of strong and creation of • Resource vulnerable groups.
• Service delivery community groups limitation.
improvement is given competitive cities. • Support small scale busi-
to challenge poor
much attention, and performance. ness establishment.
PROJECT PROPOSALS - GOVERNANCE
being exercised by
many municipalities. • Poor institutional capacity,
e.g. in most municipalities
• Trainings aim at service close to 50% of professional
delivery improvement. positions are vacant.
• Outdated or lack of
plans and regulations.
P E R F O R M A N C E , A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y A N D R E S P O N S I V E N E S S
• Institutional and human • Weak institutional • Holding municipal and • It may be difficult • Holding municipal
resource deficiencies capacity at all levels. kebele election brings to find qualified and kebele elections
are identified/felt. • Critical human resource municipal councils and professionals to as planned.
• Existence of a shortage, especially councillors on board. fill key positions • Simplify land regula-
dedicated capacity professionals. • The experience of in a short period tion and access to land.
building bureau Addis Ababa. of time.
• Changing leaders • Upgrade informal
within the ministry. and structures. • Existence of NGOs and settlements and urban
community groups. infrastructure.
24
PROJECT PROPOSALS - GOVERNANCE
GOVER- Project proposal OUTPUTS: Efficient, effective and transparent urban fi-
NANCE Urban Finance and Financial Management nance and financial management system in 4 regions.
N°1 Improvement* (UGGIP)
Urban management manuals published in major relevant
LOCATION: Cities and towns with legal administrative languages, as well as on regional web-sites.
structure.
STAFF REQUIRED: 1 national coordinator, 5 international
DURATION: Four years. experts, 25 national focal points, 10 translators, 2 IT special-
ists.
BENEFICIARIES: City dwellers, civic and commercial stake
holders.
Revenue administration
Audit
25
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats PRIORITIES
R E G U L AT I O N A N D P O L I C Y
• The existence of an inte- • Lack of comprehen- • Global institutions and • Growth of infor- • Improve the capacity of
grated housing program. sive housing policy. federal government mal settlements. the planning and imple-
• Missing or outdated regu- • Lack of upgrading policy. are keen to support • Increasing number menting institutions:
lations are identified, lack decentralization and of poor people. • Continue the devel-
• Lack of up to date re- devolution of power.
of compensation or relo- location and compen- opment of zonal and
cation when displaced. sation regulation. • The recently com- topographic maps
• Improved focus on ca- pleted study on for all urban centres,
• Lack of informal settle- deepening decentral- with existing land
pacity building, reg- ment regulation.
ulation and policy ization can help de- use and cadastre.
making, rather than op- • Inadequacy of the con- signing strategies. • Establish urban plans
erational activities. dominium policy to reach • Abundant glob- in all 925 urban centres
most of the urban poor al experience and in Ethiopia using a par-
• The experience of con- (e.g. 60% of the population
dominium regulation. best practices. ticipatory approach.
can not afford studio type).
• Existence of urban de- • Commitment of the
velopment policy. federal government.
P R O V I S I O N O F A D E Q U AT E S H E LT E R A N D S E R V I C E S
• Slum houses are planned • Condominium houses • Availability of loan for • High cost of infra- • Establish implementa-
to be replaced by condo- have not adequately ben- condominium hous- structure and ser- tion strategies for the
minium houses gradually. efited the urban poor ing beneficiaries. vices provision. above plans, taking into
• Housing programs and • No policy or program • Opportunity to learn • Increasing num- account local capac-
projects are integrat- specifically aims at im- from the experience ber of poor people ity, local economic de-
ed with job creation proving the living condi- of Addis Ababa. may not afford to velopment, informal
and capacity building. tion of slum dwellers. pay for services. settlements, and up-
• Availability of studies grading alternatives.
• Housing cooperatives • Poor infrastructure and ser- on housing and slums. • Increasing com-
and real estate develop- vice delivery in slum and petition for con- •
• The experience of Hab-
ers are promoted, sup- informal settlements. itat international on struction materials
ported and encouraged. low cost housing for • Increasing in-
those who can not af- flation may im-
ford condominium, pact on saving
especially in medi- of condominium
PROJECT PROPOSALS - SLUMS
I N S T I T U T I O N A L S E T U P A N D C A PA C I T Y B U I L D I N G
• Institutional and hu- • Weak institutional capac- • Much could be learned • Motivation of staff • Improve local democra-
man resource deficien- ity of municipalities. from the experience might take time. cy, governance, transpar-
cies are identified. • Critical human re- of Addis Ababa. ency and accountability
• Existence of a dedicat- source shortage. • Availability of sup- in all urban centres.
ed housing institutions. • Lack of up to date re- port from donors. • Improve the capacity of
• Increasing number of search and documenta- federal and the regional
contractors with experi- tion on slums and housing. planning institutions to
ence on condominium. monitor implementation.
• Poor data base and
• Increasing num- data management. • Equip towns and cit-
ber of skilled youths ies with land infor-
• Lack of clear informa- mation system. For
and enterprises. tion on kebele/govern- smaller towns it could
ment owned houses. be a simple manual reg-
ister, or computer da-
tabase in Excel. For
medium and big cit-
ies, a modern system as
planned by the minis-
try might be feasible.
26
PROJECT PROPOSALS - SLUMS
Project proposal
SLUMS
Infrastructure Production and Provision
N°1
LOCATION: Cities and towns of the country with legal OUTPUTS: Responsive, transparent, and efficient provision
administrative structure. of infrastructure and basic services in urban administrations.
DURATION: Four years. Database for research, policy making, strategy design, imple-
mentation and evaluation.
BENEFICIARIES: City administrations, urban dwellers,
and civic groups. Workable urban policy, regulations and systems.
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: The Ministry of Works STAFF REQUIRED: 1 national coordinator, 5 international
and Urban Development, regional and city administrations. experts, 25 urban focal points, 2 IT specialists.
27
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Priorities
GENDER AND HIV/AIDS POLICY
• Constitutional recogni- • Still limited number of • Increasing con- • The government • Change the religious
tion of women’s rights. women in decision mak- cern of the govern- structures are male and customary law
• Encouraging representa- ing positions at all levels. ment to the issue. dominated. preference in per-
tion of women at federal • Poor implementation of • The international com- • Deep rooted ste- sonal and family re-
level (21% of the seats in policies, laws and strat- munity is keen to reotyped culture. lations section 34 of
the house of representa- egies, like lack of inte- support gender poli- the constitution.
• Women’s ignorance
tives is taken by women). grated effort between cies and projects. and support of ex- • Raise awareness on
• Existence of con- legislative, judiciary • Narrowing gen- isting structures. existing rights of
ducive polices. and executive bodies. der gap is part of women, and oppor-
• Widely accepted and tunities for women
• Improvement in ed- • Absence of strong ad- the Millennium De- practiced harmful cultural
vocacy groups. velopment Goals. in need. In particu-
ucation and health, and traditional practices. lar this should be
e.g. affirmative ac- • Constitutional option • Increasing number of • Continuance of tradi- done within the
tion in education and of following tradition- non-governmental or- tional practices despite government, police
maternal leave. al or religious law. ganisations and pro- contrary legislation. and the judiciary.
• Existence of gender in- • High vulnerability of fessional associations.
stitutions at all levels. women in making pro- • Further reduc-
• Stabilisation of HIV/ tective decisions re- tion of HIV/AIDS in-
PROJECT PROPOSALS - GENDER and HIV/AIDS
G E N D E R A N D H I V / A I D S AWA R E N E S S A N D A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y
• Existence of independent • Weak institutional ca- • Effective gender • Continuance of exist- • Need for capacity
institutions at all levels. pacity and funding mainstreaming can ing practices make men- building at all levels
• Gender and HIV/AIDS mechanism of wom- help in filling the in- tion of gender and HIV/ • Increase account-
mainstreaming is manda- en’s affairs at all levels. stitutional gap. AIDS at every intersec- ability by federal
tory at the policy level. • Poor rapport be- • Existence of many tion, but no action is tak- and regional insti-
tween different actors NGOs working on gen- en in practice may hurt tutions on gender
• Creation of women’s af- willingness of imple-
fair departments and working on gender/ der and HIV/AIDS. mainstreaming.
women issues. mentation in the future.
HIV/AIDS focal points • Dis-aggregate all
in all federal and re- • Little dedicated funding government statis-
gional ministries and for gender and HIV/AIDS tics on gender (and
departments. and no benchmark/ urban) based vari-
tracking mechanisms in ables where relevant.
programmes and poli-
cies.
R E S O U R C E M O B I L I S AT I O N
• Donors, NGOs and • Inadequate budget • Sensitization of po- • Poor institutional capac- • Revoke proclama-
CBOs are filling the (heavy reliance on NGOs litical leaders and the ity negatively may impact tion 40/96, to for-
resource gap. and donor funding). community can have on resource mobilisation. mally allow NGOs
a huge potential. • Attitude change from and CBOs to engage
• Increasing mem- both men and wom- in savings and cred-
bers of women asso- en may take time. it co-operations.
ciation may help in • Economic empow-
generating sustain- erment of women
able income-even through implement-
by collecting nomi- ing the gender as-
nal membership fee. pect in existing
government plans
and project.
28
PROJECT PROPOSALS - GENDER and HIV/AIDS
GENDER Projects proposal
HIV/AIDS
Public Mobilisation and Participation Pro-
N°1 gramme
LOCATION: Cities and towns of the country with legal OUTPUTS: Accountable, transparent, participative, respon-
administrative structure. sive city and town administrations, that guarantees harmoni-
ous political environment and socio-economic developments
DURATION: Four years. which are critical to reduce poverty.
BENEFICIARIES: Urban administrators, dwellers and civic STAFF REQUIRED: Governance and election experts,
groups. trainers, social workers.
Hold elections.
Capacity building.
29
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Priorities
E N V I R O N M E N TA L P L A N N I N G A N D M A N A G E M E N T
• Constitutional • Poor implementa- • Existence of reach global • Too much priori- • Build the capacity of the Environ-
recognition of tion of policies. experience a technology. ty for investment mental Protection Agency so that
citizens to clean • Poor data base and data • A growing private sec- at the expenses it plays a leading and central role.
environment. base management, e.g. no tor as partner, e.g. on of environmental • Enforce existing policies.
• Existence of en- urban dis-aggregated data. recycling, in the big cit- degradation, e.g.
industrial zone • Raise awareness on sustain-
vironment poli- • Poor integration lo- ies like Addis Ababa. able environment practices.
cies, regulations development
cal and federal organs. • Most of the wastes are without EIA. • Improve basic infrastructure–
and guidelines. recyclable organic).
• Poor institutional capac- • Unattractiveness drainage and sewerage sys-
• Existence of ity of all concerned in- • Existence of infor- tems, sanitary landfill facilities
environmen- of waste man-
stitutions at all levels. mal recyclers. agement to the with sorting mechanisms.
tal protection
authorities at • Fragmented responsibil- private sector.
all levels. ity (EPA, MoH, MWUD,
municipalities).
• The Urban good
governance • Lack of regulations suit-
improvement able to different level of
package has cities guidelines, e.g. sol-
a programme id waste management.
that focuses • Poor regulatory capac-
on community ity, e.g. most of pro-
mobilisation. tected areas by spatial
plans of cities are invad-
ed by informal settlers.
• Abuse of spatial plans, e.g.
green areas are changed in
to other uses with no con-
sultation with concerned
PROJECT PROPOSALS - ENVIRONMENT
authorities (EPAs).
FINANCING
• Extensive insti- • Weak institutional capac- • Integrate environmen- • Poor ability of • Capacitate federal, region-
tutional facilities ity and enforcement. tal funding in all plans the commu- al and municipal institutions
on environ- and projects with dedi- nity to pay for on the concept of environ-
mental affairs. cated funding and eval- waste collection. mental sustainability.
uation mechanisms.
30
PROJECT PROPOSALS - ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRON- Project proposal STAFF REQUIRED: 1 national co-ordinator, land and
MENT
housing experts, urban planners, cadastre experts, organiza-
N°1 Land Development and Administration tion experts, system developer.
31
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32
Acronyms
AT T E N D A N C E L I S T
Abuye Aneley
Low cost Housing Development Bureau (LHDB)
Eyob Dolicho
Policy Research and Planning Bureau (PRPB)
Abebe Eshetu
Road Fund
Nega W. Gebreal
Policy Research and Planning Bureau (PRPB)
Asesefa Hagos
Federal Urban Planning Institute (FUPI)
Mohamedzeynu Kedir
Policy Research and Planning Bureau (PRPB)
Lia G. Mariam
Policy Research and Planning Bureau (PRPB)
Abrham Tekest
Policy Research and Planning Bureau (PRPB)
Yayaseh Tesfahuney
Office of Women’s Affairs
Ministry of Works and Urban Development (MWUD )
Tarekegn G. Yesus
Federal Urban Planning Institute (FUPI)
C O N TA C T S :
Alioune Badiane, Chief, Regional Office for Africa and the Arab States, e-mail: alioune.badiane@unhabitat.org.
Alain Grimard, Programme Manager and Focal Point for Ethiopia, e-mail: alain.grimard@unhabitat.org.
PSUP@unhabitat.org
ETHIOPIA TEAM:
Tewodros Tigabu, Girma Semu.