Attachments
I N T R O D U C T I O N
This nationwide Response Plan aims to address the significant Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) needs arising from multiple crises, including the influx of refugees and returnees to Ethiopia. It is informed by the system-wide Humanitarian Needs Overview 2024 [1], the Ethiopia Humanitarian Response Plan 2024 [2], the 2024 Regional Refugee Response Plans for the Sudan [3] and South Sudan [4] emergencies, and the Ethiopia Country Refugee Response Plan 2024 [5]. Furthermore, it aligns with the UNFPA Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and UNFPA's humanitarian commitments and policy guidance on preparedness, humanitarian, and resiliency programming.
To enhance sustainability, the proposed interventions adopt a Humanitarian-DevelopmentPeace nexus approach, closely linking and complementing UNFPA’s development initiatives in the country. This plan will remain a dynamic document, regularly revised to incorporate emerging issues given the volatile humanitarian context in Ethiopia. It provides a succinct analysis of core humanitarian issues at both national and regional levels, delineates SRH and GBV needs in humanitarian settings, and proposes integrated UNFPA strategies to address these needs along with the corresponding funding requirements
N A T I O N A L C O N T E X T
With a population of over 126.5 million people (2023), Ethiopia stands as the second most populous nation in Africa and one of the most diverse, hosting 86 ethnic groups, 90 spoken languages, and significant religious and geographic diversity. However, disparities exist in the ethnic composition, religious affiliations, and geographical characteristics between the highland and lowland areas, as well as within the subnational regional states. The country faces compounded fragility due to multiple shocks, including conflict and climate change hazards.
Since 2021, humanitarian needs have continued to increase in Ethiopia, spurred by conflict, inter-ethnic violence, drought, and flooding, each presenting distinct challenges to women and girls shaped by the country’s diverse geo-climatic and socioeconomic conditions. Continued displacement due to various conflicts predominates the humanitarian crisis across northern regions. The resultant breakdown of systems has led to limited availability of quality SRH and specialized lifesaving GBV services, such as Clinical Management of Rape (CMR), psychosocial support (PSS), GBV case management, legal aid, and referral for mental health and other specialized services. This has contributed to increasing rates of preventable SRH-related mortality and morbidity.
The Ethiopia Humanitarian Response Plan 2024 outlines the efforts to address the multiple challenges faced by the country, including climate change impacts, conflicts, and security issues. The HRP 2024 includes a comprehensive focus on sexual and reproductive health (SRH), gender-based violence (GBV), and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) needs. The plan recognizes the significant GBV and SRH needs arising from multiple shocks, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), returning IDPs, returning migrants, and host communities.
According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview [1], the cumulative impact of conflict, violence, and various climate change shocks has left 21.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance inin 2024. Countrywide, the number of people in need (PIN) of GBV response increased to 7.2 million, up from 6.7 million in 2023, and 5.8 million in 2022. Across the country, 435 woredas are classified as having severe needs for GBV prevention, demonstrating the urgent need to scale up access to GBV response services in conflict-affected regions. Among the people targeted in the HPRP and in the refugee response plans are a total of 3,735,000 women of reproductive age (WRA) and sexually active men who will need access to SRH services in 2024. Out of the 21.4 million crisis-affected people in 2024, the Humanitarian Response Plan targets more than 15.5 million people with life-saving integrated assistance, including food, nutrition, health, SRH, and protection services, including to survivors of GBV and SEA. To fulfill this goal, the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan for Ethiopia requires US$ 3.24 billion.
- 16.4 million people, including women and girls, require life-saving health services, including SRH, of which the Health Cluster targets 6.7 million. UNFPA is appealing for USD 21,338,696 to respond to SRH needs.
- 2.7 million people are targeted for GBV response services. UNFPA is appealing for USD 26,861,389 to respond to acute GBV needs across the country.
- In 2024, the projected population of refugees in Ethiopia is 1.14 million. In addition, 31,000 returnees and 445,763 host community members affected by the influx will need assistance, totaling 1.6 million people. The majority of these are anticipated to be women and girls. UNFPA is appealing for USD 7,300,000 to respond to the unmet GBV and SRH needs of refugees from the Sudan, Somalia, and South Sudan refugee crises impacting the country.