Ethiopia is the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, generously sheltering over 880,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. The majority are women and children who need special care and attention.
UNHCR is a key partner in the government-led inter-agency response to IDPs, leading the Protection and co-leading the Camp Coordination & Camp Management (CCCM) Clusters. UNHCR is also active in the Shelter/NFI & Logistics and Health Clusters.
UNHCR is supporting Ethiopians affected by conflict and the worst drought in 40 years, severely impacting lives and livelihoods. It’s also helping the government and communities to build resilience against natural hazards such as recurrent drought & flooding.
Working with Partners
Together with its main government counterpart, the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS), UNHCR coordinates the response to the refugee situation in the country, extending protection, providing assistance and promoting sustainable solutions to their plight. UNHCR works closely with 80 partners in the refugee response and is part of the Humanitarian Country Team, where refugee programmes are discussed strategically to ensure their needs are adequately presented and addressed across the UN System. UNHCR builds on well-established coordination fora, including the inter-sector Refugee Coordination Group together with other national and regional sectorial working groups. Committed to pursuing refugee inclusion in national services and economies, as per the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), UNHCR is furthering partnerships with Ethiopian line Ministries, regional and local authorities, development partners and the private sector.
UNHCR is an active part of the government-led Inter-Agency response to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), leading and co-leading the Protection and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Clusters, contributing to the shelter and non-food items cluster, and strengthening sub-national coordination with better information sharing and communication. It distributes emergency aid supplies and related support to IDPs and IDP returnees across the country.
Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees