BRIEFING NOTE. Amhara region briefing note. Regional

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1 BRIEFING NOTE Regional Ethiopia Country Office 2016 Amhara region briefing note Amhara region covers an area of over 157, square kilometres. The region is sub-divided into 10 administrative zones and three metropolitan city administrations, with its capital in Bahir Dar. The region contains 169 administrative woredas, 131 of which are rural woredas and 38 town administrations. The region has 3,364 kebeles and the population in 2015/16 was estimated to be at 20,769,999. The regional economy is heavily dependent upon the agriculture sector. In addition to crop production, the people of the region rely on livestock as a source of income. The main practice is a type of subsistence farming. As a result, more than one million people of the region are repeatedly exposed to transitory and chronic food insecurity. List of key statistics Total population: 20,018,999 (2014 projection based on the 2007 CSA census) Total under five years old population: 2,369,247 (2012 projection based on the 2007 CSA census) Under 5 mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 108 (EDHS ) Adult Literacy: 61.9 per cent men and 36.4 per cent women (EDHS 2011) Access to safe water supply: 54.5 per cent (EMDHS ). Children fully immunised: 51.7 per cent (MoH 20112). People living below the national poverty line: 30.5 per cent (HICES /11) People living below the food poverty line: 42.5 per cent (HICES 2010/11) UNICEF s support As the year 2016 marks the beginning of UNICEF s new Country Programme and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNICEF will contribute to four pillars of the UNDAF : (a) a resilient, sustainable, and green economy, (b) basic social services, (c) governance, participation and capacity development and (d) girls and women equality and empowerment with new focus areas of adolescent girls, urbanization and integrated early childhood development. These pillars align with and support the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII) of the country. Child survival and health UNICEF Ethiopia supports the Government s flagship Health Extension Programme (HEP) to reach the most vulnerable populations in the Amhara region through several initiatives. As most child deaths are attributed to preventable causes, UNICEF supports access and quality improvement of basic health care services and promotes health at family, community and health facility levels. 1 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2 Ethiopian Mini-Demographic and Health Survey 3 Household Income, Consumption and Expenditure Survey 1

2 UNICEF is working with multiple partners, including the health bureau and other UN and NGOs in the region. As a result, the following has been achieved: The HEP has been scaled up to 3,131 (100 per cent) of the rural kebeles of the region Access to routine vaccination services has reached 100 per cent and a routine immunization coverage of 93 per cent was achieved in the region during 2015/2016 Integrated community-based case management (iccm) services have been scaled up to 3,336 (100 per cent) of Health Posts (HPs) Maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination targets have been achieved in the region Morbidity and mortality due to measles have been reduced significantly A malaria outbreak occurred in 15 woredas in 2015/2016 and active case finding, mass fever test and treatment, sensitization of Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) utilization and focal spray responses were response measures undertaken The regional capacity to manage public health emergencies has improved significantly; the result of which is a significant reduction of outbreaks in the region The number of Health Centres (HCs) providing Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC) in the region has reached 667: 81 per cent Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) services have been expanded to reach 775 health posts:89 per cent For nutrition, the first and major focus is strengthening activities impacting upon nutrition promotion and malnutrition prevention, while also supporting the Community- Based Management of Acute Malnutrition Programme (CMAM). In the period from January to June 2016, 27,337 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were treated with 92.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent cure and defaulter rates respectively, with no deaths taking place during this time. In addition, UNICEF also supports the Regional Health Bureau (RHB) in: the supplementation of Vitamin A for children aged 6-59 months to prevent Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), the provision of Albendazole to children aged months to prevent Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) and the screening of malnutrition for Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLWs) and children aged 6-59 months. With immense support from UNICEF Ethiopia, Community Based Nutrition (CBN) was implemented in eight pilot woredas in 2015/2016 and now the entire region is being covered. More than half a million children are attending the monthly Growth Monitoring Programme (GMP). Since the start of implementation, the underweight rate has declined in children attending the monthly GMP. There are nearly 3,200 CMAM sites in the region with a ratio of Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) to Stabilization Centres (SC) being 19:1. This means that for each 20 kebeles, there is one SC site, which is in line with the recommendation of one SC site per woreda (each woreda is made up of about of 20 kebeles). Learning and development To increase equitable access to education for boys and girls in primary schools, UNICEF has been supporting the region by providing capacity building for main stakeholders and school-based structures such as; Parents-Teachers Associations (PTAs), Girls Education Advisory Committees and Girls Clubs on Ending Child Marriage (ECM), sensitive life skill education, health promoting behaviours and gender responsive pedagogy. To address challenges highlighted in the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) conducted in 2010, UNICEF is supporting the region to implement a Quality Education Improvement Package with the aim of establishing classroom-based assessment systems to improve children s learning achievements at the lower grades of primary schools (1-4). As part of the quality improvement programme, UNICEF is heavily investing in creating Chid Friendly School (CFS) environments in primary schools by providing furniture and rehabilitating deteriorated classrooms. 2

3 To strengthen the Emergency-in-Education (EiE) response, UNICEF is supporting the revitalization of the EiE taskforce to assist children to continue with their schooling during emergencies. 19,386 children, affected by drought emergency in UNICEF target and priority one woredas, were supported with basic educational materials. This contributed to increasing children s access to education and reducing dropouts and absenteeism in pre-primary and primary schools throughout the region. Child protection UNICEF is supporting the Amhara region to address key child protection issues such as Violence Against Children (VAC) (adolescent development, HIV/AIDS, child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) Child Focused Social Welfare (CFSW), Child Justice (CJ) and birth registration. UNICEF supports the regional justice system in strengthening the technical capacity of justice institutions and professionals to provide expanded and better quality legal services, legal information, legal literacy and effective measurement for children in conflict with the law. Functional child friendly justice systems have been established in eleven woredas throughout the region. In 2015/2016, 1,665 children in contact with the law benefited from the justice for children programme. A gender flagship programme is being implemented jointly with other UN organizations (UNICEF, UNFPA, ILO, UN Women, and UNDP) to support the empowerment of women/girls to increase access to education, leadership, participation and decision making. Currently, UNICEF Ethiopia is supporting the Government, particularly the Ministry of Justice and Vital Events Registration Agency (VERA s), to initiate birth registration by strengthening the human and institutional elements of the system applicable to birth registration and certification, all the while complying with international standards and national legislation. A total of 3,550 kebeles have already been identified and capacity building efforts are underway with personnel with the resources necessary for effective operation. UNICEF, together with the regional government, has identified 20 hotspot woredas for comprehensive interventions on EMC. During 2015/2016, with the support of UNICEF, 5,181 arranged child marriages were cancelled in the region and 823 kebeles reported the end of CM in their communities. 32,000 women in development groups declared that child marriage will be stopped within three years. Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) UNICEF Ethiopia supports the WASH sector in service delivery, emergency response and sector coordination. As part of WASH service delivery, UNICEF supports the provision of water supply, sanitation and hygiene services to communities, schools and health institutions through the establishment of new water supply schemes and the rehabilitation/expansion of existing water supply schemes. In 2015/16, with UNICEF s support, 87,539 people, 32 institutional facilities (20 schools and 12 health facilities) gained access to safe, adequate and continuous water supply services through the construction of 11 piped water supply and sanitation projects. In the meantime, the ongoing construction of another 11 piped water supply projects is expected to benefit a total of about 187,909 people, 54 schools and 25 health facilities. 139,937 people gained access to basic sanitation services through the construction and use of household latrines with hand washing facilities. 533 villages have also been verified and certified through the Community Led Total Sanitation and Hygiene (CLTSH) approach that has helped communities create clean environments. UNICEF also supports WASH sector coordination in line with the One WASH National Programme. As part of the emergency WASH response; over 471,425 people have gained access to safe water supply services through water trucking and rehabilitation of exiting water supply schemes. Over 61, 217 people in emergency affected kebeles now have access to self-constructed facilities supported by UNICEF with capacity building and promotional activities. 3

4 Cross-cutting interventions Adolescent development and HIV prevention UNICEF s adolescent development programme targets young people aged 10-19, particularly adolescents who are vulnerable and/or disadvantaged. UNICEF, in collaboration with the regional HIV/AIDS Prevention Control Office (HAPCO), has played a key role to prevent adolescents from contracting HIV, by advocating for a forum for young people to express their concerns, share talents, learn from each other and participate in designing youth focused interventions. The programme is being implemented in 20 woredas and also in seven additional woredas where UNICEF-UNFPA joint programmes are being implemented. More than 69,000 children received prevention services on violence and HIV infection in 2015/2016. In a similar effort to improve equitable access to primary and post primary education, particularly for adolescent girls, UNICEF is implementing Basic Education and ECM programmes in 55 target woredas (including in 20 ECM hotspot woredas). Social protection and Social welfare programmes UNICEF, in partnership with the Bureau of Women, Children Affairs (BoWCA), initiated the establishment and operationalization of 31 Community Care Coalitions (CCCs) in 31 woredas of the region. Building on this, the regional BoWCA and other key sectors (BoLSA and RHB, HAPCO) further established CCCs in all kebeles of the 168 woredas of the region. In 2015/2016 more than US$250,000 was mobilized by CCCs from 3,145,677 members (36 per cent women), institutions and faith based organizations. More than 495,000 vulnerable children (about 51 per cent girls) were reached with different CFSW services. The capacity of CCCs and other stakeholders has been strengthened through training and by providing resources (supplies and equipment) for CCCs. In 2015/2016, 4,223 (females 1,812) separated and abandoned children were reunited with their families and communities, 88 children (41 females) were domestically adopted, and 509 (266 females) were provided with foster care services. Integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD) UNICEF Ethiopia assists the region to increase access and improve quality of pre-school education through advocating for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) policy and strategy formulation; providing support in the development and production of curriculum materials and providing indoor/outdoor play and learning materials/equipment plus institutional and human resource capacity development to improve quality learning. It directly supports 35 targeted woreda education offices and 2,065 primary schools in providing preschool education through O classes attached to them. UNICEF also supports the region in expanding access to children who live far away from formal primary schools through a nonformal child-to-child approach. As a result of these interventions, some 171,800 (82,844 female) children went to pre-school classes in 35 UNICEF target woredas during 2014/2015. In order to improve the quality of preschools, UNICEF has also provided support to 71 primary schools to initiate model O classes and 310 O classes attached to primary schools were also provided with play and learning materials, to the benefit of 50,602 (24,529 female) children in ,029 (1,097 female) ECCD facilitators were trained on their facilitation roles with UNICEF support contributing to improved quality of learning. UNICEF has also been working to increase the awareness of parents/caregivers on early stimulation and school readiness. Hence, 5,299 (731 female) community members capacity improved as a result of the training provided by the funding made available from UNICEF during 2016 alone. Humanitarian Situation and Responses Government and humanitarian partners are responding to the needs of people living in drought-affected areas of the region through a range of interventions including: strengthening the cluster coordination system, providing emergency food aid, on-going support under the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), supporting livelihoods, CMAM which incorporates the Therapeutic Feeding Programme (TFP), Community Health Day/Targeted Supplementary Feeding (CHD/TSF) programmes, child protection case management and psychosocial support interventions. The Humanitarian Requirement Document (HRD 4

5 2016) approved a total of 2,298,494 meher beneficiaries for relief assistance from January June There are also an additional 306,246 belg beneficiaries receiving relief food assistance within the region. For more information and resources Website ethcommunication@unicef.org 5