Programs
Agriculture
In agriculture, Catholic Relief Services Ethiopia promotes market-led agricultural production involving: territory identification and characterization; interest group formation; market opportunity identification; sub-sector analysis; and facilitation of linking with market actors. CRS evaluates new technologies in collaboration with research institutes. In natural resources management, CRS Ethiopia focuses on enabling communities to improve the management of their natural resources in a sustainable manner to improve their food security.
Main activities are: soil and water conservation through physical and biological measures and area closure; seedling production and planting; technical and institutional capacity building; provision of inputs—seeds, tools and beehives; on-farm verification and scaling up of proven technologies; extension service—through training farmers on use of new technologies and practice; facilitate access to market—link farmers to market; promote collective marketing; encourage agroenterprise groups to establish SILC groups; livelihood fairs and vouchers; small-scale irrigation schemes; seed-grower groups production and marketing.
Catholic Relief Services Ethiopia's main disaster response activities are done through the Joint Emergency Operation Partnership (JEOP). Funded by USAID and operating from August 2012-June 2014, the JEOP is reaching 984,211 people in 79 districts in five regions (Amhara, Oromiya, SNNPR, Somali and Tigray) and the Dire Dawa Administration Council. Main activities are: food distribution; behavior change communication on the use of corn-soy blend supplementary foods; establishment of an SMS community-based food insecurity early warning system; referral of malnourished children to out-patient feeding programs; and Savings and Internal Lending Communities.
Catholic Relief Services Ethiopia's health work focuses on health and nutrition for pregnant and lactating women and children under five years. Through the Development Food Aid Assistance program, USAID supports CRS to reach 844,799 beneficiaries with nutrition education in Oromiya, Dire Dawa and Wonji regions. Local government and health care workers are also trained in maternal and child health and nutrition. In the Joint Emergency Operation Partnership (JEOP), CRS reaches 345,874 pregnant and lactating women and children under five with nutritional support; educates 83,945 families on good nutrition practices; and follows up 14,094 children discharged from outpatient therapeutic feeding programs and referred to JEOP.
CRS Ethiopia is one of 14 country programs implementing the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Civil Society Organization Platform grant. Approximately $80,000 in GAVI funding annually is supporting the establishment, expansion and functioning of the Health Forum, a national platform for coordinating civil society actors in health programming. There are currently 60 organizations represented on the platform.
The goal of the Catholic Relief Services Ethiopia HIV program is to reduce HIV incidence among the 270,670 beneficiary population in Gambella and Benishangul regions. CDC has provided $391,780 for the period October 2013-September 2013. Key activities are: engage HEWs to promote VMMC; strengthen linkages between the community and health facilities; organize outreach mobile VCT services; CSOs and CBOs conduct community-based HIV sensitization activities; CSOs and CBOs support PLHIV with PSS for disclosure; PLHIV utilize PwP skills; resource management training for HAPCO staff; strengthen partnerships and networks; monitoring and evaluation training for HAPCO staff; financial management training for CSO/CBO representatives; partnership training for CSO/CBO representatives; funding acquisition training for CSO/CBO representatives; M&E training for LIPs, CSOs and CBOs staff; partnership development and maintenance skills Training.
Catholic Relief Services Ethiopia has created and supported Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) since 2006, involving 11 implementing partners in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Dire Dawa and Addis Ababa. SILC programs are integrated with other projects, i.e. agriculture, HIV, food security, youth, peace and justice and emergency. As of March 2013, CRS Ethiopia has supported 1760 SILC groups with 29,790 (9,443 Male and 20,343 Female) members. Groups have mobilized $107,882 in savings and $23,700 in social funds.
Currently, CRS Ethiopia integrates SILC into 5 projects (8 implementing partners): Development Food Aid Program (DFAP) funded by USAID; USAID; Joint Emergency Operation Partnership (JEOP) funded by USAID; 'A Richer Blend': Livelihoods Diversification for Smallholder Coffee Farmers in Ethiopia funded by Green Mountain Coffee Rosters; Integrated Water Resource Management projects funded by CRS private funds; and Justice and Peace promotion project, CRS private funds.
The Development Food Aid Assistance Program (DFAP) supports the government of Ethiopia's national safety net program (Productive Safety Net Program) to distribute food aid to vulnerable households. Distribution is integrated with: nutrition education and behavior change; support to stabilization centers; capacity strengthening of local government and development outreach workers and health facility staff; SILC; public works jobs for beneficiaries doing resource management and infrastructure construction (e.g. planting trees, constructing roads and water points); school toilet construction; community mobilization for sanitation and hygiene; and gender education.
Catholic Relief Services Ethiopia is managing five Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects with a total of $4.8 million in funding. Interventions rehabilitate existing and build new water resource points; mobilize communities to create and manage their own WASH interventions, including 'arbor-loo' toilets; and support income generation through community-based creation of toilet slabs. Projects are implemented in 16 districts in Tigray, Oromia, Dire Dawa, and Amhara regions and benefit 246,975 people directly.
