Ethiopia has made significant strides in expanding educational access in the past two decades. However, rapid expansion has strained the quality of education. Learning outcomes are declining, with 90 percent of 10-year-olds unable to read and comprehend age-appropriate texts, according to the World Bank. High dropout rates, particularly in grade 1, persist. Ongoing crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic, internal conflict, and climate-related shocks, threaten to erode progress. As of November 2023, over 7 million school-age children (4-14 years) are out of school due to humanitarian crises.
Save the Children Ethiopia implements a diverse range of education programs nationwide. In 2022, we executed 21 education projects across seven regions, primarily focusing on emergencies induced by drought, conflict, and displacement. With a total portfolio exceeding USD 24 million in 2022, it was our largest endeavor in Ethiopia to date.
Aligned with our global ambition, by 2024, we aim to facilitate the safe return to learning for 150 million children, prioritizing the most marginalized, including girls, children with disabilities, refugees, migrants, and those from low-income households. In Ethiopia, our goal is to provide relevant, inclusive early childhood care and primary education, reaching 1 million children through emergency and development interventions from 2022 to 2024. Notably, in 2022, we supplied school meals to over 300,000 children affected by emergencies, supporting their enrollment and retention in schools.
Save the Children Ethiopia possesses extensive experience managing large, intricate programs and leading consortia in partnership with diverse stakeholders. Our interventions prioritize early childhood and basic education, employing proven methodologies such as Emergent Literacy and Math (ELM) at the pre-primary level, and Literacy Boost (LB) and Numeracy Boost (NB) at the primary level. We also cater to the educational needs of refugee children from neighboring countries, such as South Sudan and Somalia.
Our expertise encompasses remedial education, safe schools initiatives, teacher professional development, foundational and socio-emotional learning, gender-based violence prevention, and tailored "return to learning" programs for children in crisis, protracted crises, and development contexts.
As active members of local networks, we co-lead the Education Cluster in Ethiopia with UNICEF and participate in the Education Thematic Working Group led by the Ministry of Education. This collaborative approach ensures our efforts are integrated and impactful, contributing to sustainable change in Ethiopia's education landscape.
