Newborn Survival Project – Final results dissemination workshop

Posted on 20/09/202122/09/2021 by AICS Addis Abeba

On the 16th and 17th of September, the final results dissemination workshop of the Newborn Survival Project took place.
The Newborn Survival Project: quality and innovation for an increased access to neonatal care in Ethiopia started in June 2018 and is coming to its end in September 2021.

The project’s overall objective has been to improve the quality and accessibility of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit services (NICUs) in three hospitals: St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, St. Luke Catholic Hospital and College of Nursing and Midwifery in Wolisso, and Tulu Bolo General Hospital. The project then expanded to 15 kebele in 5 different woredas, actively involving the communities in awareness-raising activities on good newborn care practices.

The project aimed at reaching the following specific objectives:

• Improve clinical-organizational quality and use of the NICU services in the three selected hospitals;
• Increase the availability of quality health and technical personnel for the NICU of the three hospitals;
• Improve the availability of standard and evaluation tools for the quality of neonatal care.

Supported by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and implemented by the civil society organization (CSO) Doctors with Africa CUAMM in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), the Ethiopian Catholic Church – Social and Development Commission (ECCSDCO) and Oromia Regional Health Bureau, South West Shoa Zone Health (SWSZHD), the project also saw the involvement of technical partners namely: Ethiopian Paediatric Society – EPS responsible for the training and supervisions, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù (OPBG), Informatics without Borders (Informatici senza Frontiere – ISF) and Università degli Studi di Tor Vergata – Dipartimento Pediatrico Universitario-Ospedaliero (DPUO TV).

On the first day of the event, the project and particularly its achievements* were presented:

• Reduction in neonatal mortality in the 3 NICUs;
• More than 14,500 sick newborns were admitted in the NICU of the 3 hospitals;
• 3 NICU manuals and 1 NICU biomedical equipment manual produced;
• 53 nurses and 56 biomedical engineers trained;
• 26 health extension workers and 575 women development army trained;
• 1 digitalized information system for pathological infant developed;
• Construction of NICU building in St. Luke and rehabilitation of Tulu Bolo NICU;
• 158 community meetings and 51,652 women sensitized on newborn care;
• Continuous provision of NICSU equipment and drugs in the 3 hospitals.

On the second day of the event, visits to the Tulu Bolo and Wolisso structures were organized to see the interventions made during the three years.

The Director of AICS Office in Addis Ababa, Isabella Lucaferri, during her welcoming speech, pointed out the importance of the collaboration among the actors involved that made possible the activities progress, in addition, she added:

– “By sustaining the project AICS demonstrates once again its commitment towards the health sector, a priority area for us; along the years, the Italian development cooperation has been supporting numerous initiatives in order to contribute in bettering the Ethiopian Health Care System and making it more inclusive and accessible to all citizens.”

* Data Jun 2018-Jul 2021

AICS Addis Ababa received an appreciation letter from the Ethiopian Ministry of Education for its support to the “Education Sector Development Program” (ESDP)

Posted on 12/12/201912/12/2019 by AICS Addis Abeba

The Addis Ababa Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation has recently received an appreciation letter from the Ministry of Education of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for its extensive support to the “Education Sector Development Program” (ESDP).
ESDP is a multi-donor program aimed to provide access to quality and equitable education to all Ethiopian children. With a financial contribution totaling 28.5 MEUR, the Italian support focused around three main components, namely:

Institutional Capacity Building and Primary Education;
Upgrading of Secondary Schools to Junior Technical Vocational Education and Training College (TVETC);
Post Graduate Program of Addis Ababa and Haramaya University.

In the context of the Institutional Capacity Building and Primary Education, 45 experts from different departments of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and of the regional Education Bureaus received Master-level trainings in Educational Policy and Planning from the College of Education of the Addis Ababa University. In addition, capacity building activities focusing on communications and procurement of office equipment were carried out in the Somali, Afar, Tigray and Oromia Regions of Ethiopia.
Thanks to the contribution from the Italian Government, four Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges (Tegbared and General Winget in Addis Ababa, Diredawa and Dessie W/ro Sehin) were supported through the realization of civil works (e.g. construction of new rooms, libraries, workshops and laboratories) and the procurement of equipment, books, laptops, as well as furniture within the scope of the TVET component of the Program. Moreover, the TVET college based in Diredawa has been renamed “Ethio-Italy TVET College”, due to the considerable support received by the Italian Government.
In the framework of the Post Graduate Program , the Italian contribution aimed to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ethiopian Universities of Addis Ababa and Haramaya by covering its management costs, as well as by providing research grants, laboratories equipment, and teaching sessions by consortium of universities identified through international tenders. To date, the Italian Universities of Sassari, Naples “L’Orientale”, Padua, and Ferrara have worked closely with four departments of the Addis Ababa University, namely the Natural Sciences, Archeology and Heritage Management, Veterinary Medicine, Economics.
The Italian contribution was critical to achieve the results set in the ESDP plan and therefore to improving the education sector in Ethiopia.

Italy will contribute €161 million to the The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Posted on 19/09/201919/09/2019 by AICS Addis Abeba

It’s official: for the period 2020-2022, Italy will contribute €161 million to the The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, +15% compared to Italy’s previous contribution.
Italy is already the ninth major public donor to the Global Fund.

Italy’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emanuela Del Re, stressed that “The Italian Development Cooperation is ready to continue to play an important role in this global fight.”

In view of the replenishment of the Global Fund, last May, AICS Addis Ababa welcomed to Ethiopia a delegation composed by the Senator Alessandro Alfieri and the Deputies Yana Ehm and Simona Suriano and had the chance to show them the projects financed by the Italian Cooperation and the activities supported by the Global Fund in the country. The mission was organized by Network Italiano Salute Globale and AIDOS Associazione italiana donne per lo sviluppo, together with the Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo and the Global Fund.

The Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Signed Five Implementing Agreements

Posted on 05/03/202009/03/2020 by AICS Addis Abeba

Today, 05^th March, the Ambassador of Italy H.E. Arturo Luzzi and the Deputy Minister of Finance of Ethiopia H.E. Admasu Nebebe signed at the Ministry of Finance in Addis Ababa five bilateral agreements concerning technical and financial assistance for a total amount of 28.7 Million Euros. The signing ceremony has also been attended by Mr. Tiberio Chiari, Head of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) - Addis Ababa Office.

“As you all know, Ethiopia is undergoing an unprecedented political, social, and economic reforms, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed. The past two years have seen all rounded transformational changes in the country. The reform efforts have been multi-faceted, broad, and ambitious. On this reform, the Government of Italy has been an invaluable partner”, stated the Deputy Minister of Finance of Ethiopia H.E. Admasu Nebebe.

“In this period of financial constraints and of many other problems that we have to face in Europe, and in Italy, it means that our friendship and our partnership is very strong. This partnership is very strong because we have an intensive political dialogue. Our Prime Minister has been the first Western leader to come to Ethiopia in 2018”, stated then the Ambassador of Italy H.E. Arturo Luzzi, underlying the mutual friendship that unites Italy and Ethiopia.

“We see how the process has just started, but we can say that there are very positive relationships among the Italian system – of enterprises, institutions, and people – with the Ethiopian system – enterprises, institutions, authorities, etc. I think it is one of the main achievements to establish strict relationships and to proceed to a common path for the future, in the major effort to reach effectiveness, efficacy, and on-time results for the benefit of the whole country”, concluded Mr. Tiberio Chiari, Head of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) - Addis Ababa Office.

The five implementing agreements are focused on the agro-industrial development, on strengthening the health system with special attention given to gender and nutrition component, on urban natural resources management, on education and job creation:

Improvement on skill development and job creation under TVET program in Ethiopia – 10 Million and 5 Hundred Thousand Euro;
Italian contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals Performance Fund (SDG PF) – 10 Million Euro;
River side development project in Addis Ababa-Ethiopia – 5 Million Euro;
Intervention to reduce geographical inequities in 4 Developing Regions in gender and nutrition components – 2 Million and 2 Hundred Thousand Euro;
Improved rural livelihoods through support to Moringa Value Chain development in SNNPR, Ethiopia – 1 Million Euro.

The above interventions fall within the Ethio-Italian Cooperation Country Framework 2017-19 whose portfolio is of 125 Million Euro. The above-mentioned Country Framework is aimed at contributing to the integrated, inclusive and sustainable development and follows the guiding Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation Principles of strengthening the Country ownership and reinforcing mutual accountability as well as promoting a win-win partnership.

The Office of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency in Addis Ababa and the Ministry of Finance of Ethiopia are negotiating a new Cooperation Country Framework for the period 2020-22 with an increased budget up to 140 Million Euro, witnessing the priority that Italy continues to attach to the partnership with Ethiopia.

PRESS REVIEW

Ethiopian News Agency (ENA)

Ethiopian TV (From min 0:00)

Royal Consulting Plc.

See also:

Embassy of Italy in Ethiopia: News and Facebook post

Ministry of Finance: News, Tweet and Facebook post

Italy has been recognized by IFC for the valuable role in the development of the Private Sector in Ethiopia

Posted on 09/03/202009/03/2020 by AICS Addis Abeba

On 25^th of February, Italy has been recognized by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for its contribution to the development of the private sector in Ethiopia, in particular for its leading role in the Multi Donor Initiative (MDI) focused on two main pillars: investment climate and access to finance. The recognition reception has taken place in Hyatt Regency Hotel with the participation of all the donors involved in the initiative: Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States.

In the past 8 years, Italy has had a triggering role in shaping the MDI for Private Sector Development in Ethiopia and the development of the initiative, implemented by the IFC.

Thanks to the joint effort of the many donors and IFC, at February 2020 many results have been achieved in both pillars area, such as:

Ethiopia Improved Two Indicators Score Points in the Ease of Doing Business 2020.
Ethiopia Entered the Top 20 Most Visa-Open Countries in Africa.
The Government of Ethiopia Launched Medium-Term Doing Business (DB) Reform Implementation Roadmap resulting in simpler procedures on commercial registration and business licensing, VAT reporting for small and medium taxpayers, and risk-based construction permit issuance and inspection directive for low and medium risk buildings. Moreover, a new commercial code has been drafted and will be approved in the first half of 2020.
Electronic Single Window (eSW) was officially launched by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia to facilitate trade for Ethiopia and to enhance cost effectiveness and efficiency in trade logistics landscape of Ethiopia.
Tourism Ethiopia (TE) established a working group for the implementation of two tourism strategies
Amhara Investment Commission started piloting Tana Belt initiative.
Amhara and Oromia National Regional States to Establish a One-Stop Service (OSS) for Business Registration and Licensing.
Ethiopia Ratified a New Investment Proclamation that opens up the Space for More Private Sector Participation attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the Country.
Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) Launched Warehouse Receipt Financing (WRF) in partnership with Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
First Foreign-Owned Leasing Company, Ethio Lease, Launches Operations in Ethiopia.
National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) Successfully Completed the Integration of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) Borrowers to the Credit Bureau Database.
Ethiopia’s Movable Assets Security Rights Proclamation Approved by the Parliament Enabling the Creation of a New Movable Collateral Registry.
Agreements Signed with Two Local Companies to Provide Corporate Governance Advisory Services.
40,000 Smallholder Farmers Benefited in Heineken’s Barley Supply Chain.
Luna Export PLC Achieved the Globally-Recognized Food Safety System Certification (FSSC).
Enat Bank started Rolling Out Non-Financial Services Training for Women Entrepreneurs.

For more detailed information, refer to the latest newsletter by IFC, February 2020 – Vol.3: www.ifc.org.

Italy and Ethiopia present the joint actions undertaken by the Ethio – Italian Private-Public Partnership for the sustainable development of agro-industry in Ethiopia

Posted on 08/03/201830/08/2019 by AICS Addis Abeba

AICS Addis Abeba participated to the International Coffee Conference, Exhibition & Festival 2020

Posted on 09/03/202009/03/2020 by AICS Addis Abeba

On the 06th of February, AICS Addis Abeba participated to the opening cerimony of the International Coffee Conference, Exhibition and Festival 2020 organized by the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture.

During the event, Adugna Debela (Ph.D.), Director-General of Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), officially launched the new Ethiopian Coffee Brand Logo which represents the “Coffee from the Land of Origins”: Ethiopia. The new logo should distinguish Ethiopian coffee all over the world, and allow Ethiopian farmers to have premium prices for their production.

The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) - Addis Abeba Office supports the agro-industrial and private sector development in the country, and in particular it is committed to improve the sustainability and inclusiveness of the Ethiopian coffee value chain through private and public partnership. The project, implemented through UNIDO, is a great example of the involvement of the Italian private sector in the development cooperation, thanks to the participation of illycaffè and Ernesto Illy Foundation, two Italian excellencies in the coffee value chains worldwide.

Ethiopia: Results and Perspectives towards the 2030 Agenda Realization at the Festival for Sustainable Development

Posted on 01/10/202012/10/2020 by AICS Addis Abeba

The Embassy of Italy in Ethiopia and AICS Addis Ababa take part in the Festival for Sustainable Development (Festival dello Sviluppo Sostenibile), this year held online from the 22^nd of September to the 8^th of October.

The Festival is the largest Italian initiative to raise awareness and mobilize citizens, Private and Public Sector on the topic of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The Festival also aims at achieving a cultural and political change that can allow Italy to implement the 2030 Agenda of the UN and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As part of the Festival, AICS Addis Ababa and the Embassy of Italy in Ethiopia organized a webinar entitled: "Ethiopia: Results and Perspectives towards the 2030 Agenda Realization" that will take place on the online platform Zoom on Tuesday 6^th October morning from 10.00 to 11.30 am (CET).

The webinar will focus on the status of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda’s objectives in Ethiopia, and it will also aim at sharing appropriate reflections and ideas for the future.

During the first part of the webinar, AICS’ implementing partners – from Government Institutions, UN, and the Civil Society – will present initiatives in the Health, WASH, and Industrial Development sectors explaining how their projects aim at achieving targets and related SDGs.

The speakers will intervene on behalf of:

the Ethio-International Footwear Cluster Cooperative Society (EIFCCOS), UNIDO, and the Italian CSO Comunità Volontari per il Mondo (CVM) to present their intervention in the leather sector;
the Provincia Autonoma di Trento, the Bruno Kessler Foundation, IT Without Borders, the Italian CSO Doctors with Africa CUAMM, and the Woreda Health Office of Wolisso to present the “SurvEthi” Project aimed at improving the epidemiological surveillance in the targeted area;
the Water Resources Development Fund (WRDF) to present the “Urban Wash” programme.

A debate on SDGs will follow and it will be facilitated by AICS Addis Ababa’s staff. The debate will see the speakers, the Partners CSOs, and the participants as protagonists. The webinar will not only aim at understanding where we are in achieving the SDGs, but also to share important considerations and innovative ideas.

Download the webinar’s agenda here.

Participate on Zoom, follow this link.
Meeting ID: 998 0892 7693
Passcode: 022361

The webinar is open to 100 participants only. Who can’t participate live will be able to watch the video recording that we will upload on our YouTube channel.

The awareness campaign and the prevention activities by COOPI in Bale Zone to stop the spread of Covid-19

Posted on 12/05/202012/05/2020 by AICS Addis Abeba

Awareness campaigns and prevention are essential to stop the spread of the Covid-19 in Ethiopia and in the rest of the world.

In Bale Zone, COOPI started raising awareness and prevention activities among the beneficiary communities of the project “Emergency initiative for vulnerable returnee and potential migrant populations to mitigate the causes of irregular migration in Bale, Arsi and Western Arsi Zones of Oromia region” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) – Addis Abeba Office.

What is coronavirus? How is it transmitted and how can the transmission be prevented? This is the basic information being spread, both directly and through community ambassadors who are in charge of disseminating the knowledge in each village.

Village committees received disinfectant, soap and sanitizer, and public handwashing facilities have been installed.

Participants at the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) training, have become themselves spokespersons to raise awareness in the communities.

These activities have been possible thanks to existing funds that have been reoriented to the purpose, as in the case of the Personal Protective Equipment distribution through UNAIDS. During a global pandemic, in fact, it is more important than ever to protect people’s health everywhere: in Italy, Ethiopia, and the rest of the world, in order to protect the common good and everyone’s future!

Ministry of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and AICS Addis Abeba Unite Stakeholders against NCDs

Posted on 19/02/202009/03/2020 by AICS Addis Abeba

The Double Burden of Diseases and Challenges on Service Provision and Integration in Ethiopia: Evidence Generated from Different Experiences - 26 and 27 February 2020

Ethiopia has made significant progress on social development, including poverty reduction, with encouraging results on Communicable Diseases (CDs) control, improved nutrition, maternal and child health. The country is strongly committed to maintaining this progress moving towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). At the same time, all segments of the population in Ethiopia show signs of the epidemiological shift occurring in most African countries, with a fast-growing prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which call for new and innovative public health strategies to tackle the double burden of diseases.

In Ethiopia, there is evidence of an increasing burden of NCDs and their risk factors. A number of separate small-scale studies and the situational analysis conducted by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2015 (STEPS Survey) [1] substantiate this conclusion. Accordingly, the Federal Ministry of Health developed a national strategic framework on the prevention and control of NCDs and their risk factors. The strategic framework recommended the development of a detailed National and sub-national Strategic Action Plan 2019-2025 (NSAP). The plan outlines detailed actions and interventions required in the prevention and control of the major NCDs, and their risk factors, which should receive due priority in Ethiopia. These are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes and their shared risk factors including tobacco, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, smoking, and excessive alcohol use, as well as khat consumption. Mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders, that make a large contribution to NCDs, are dealt with separately in the National Mental Health Strategy [2].

Tackling NCDs requires a multi-sectoral approach interlinked with actions to address the broader social determinants of health such poverty, equity and environmental concerns. Prevention and treatment of NCDs represent one of the four categories of services indicators listed by WHO to monitor the level of equity and coverage in the progress towards UHC. There is an urgent need to implement nationwide public health initiatives, with the involvement of different sectors, addressing prevention and control of NCD and their main risk factors. Thus, contributing to the achievement of SDG target 3.4 and progressing towards UHC.

At the same time, control of CDs remains a priority in the HSTP as well as in the Agenda 2030 (SDG target 3.3). The convergence of CD and NCDs represents a challenge and an opportunity to enable sustainable and integrated services provision reducing the risk to further increase inequality in accessing health care services in Ethiopia.

The workshop “The Double Burden of Diseases and Challenges on Service Provision and Integration in Ethiopia: Evidence Generated from Different Experiences” will take place at Jupiter International Hotel on February 26 and 27, 2020 and aims to bring together local and international policy makers, technical experts and development partners to discuss on different experiences and evidence-based technical solutions in the integrated prevention and control of CDs and NCDs. Organized jointly by the Ministry of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) - Addis Ababa, the workshop will see the participation of representatives from Regional Health Bureaus, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Ethiopian Universities, Bilateral and Multilateral Agencies, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), representatives from the Palestinian and Sudanese Ministry of Health, and Italian Universities and Institutes.

A comprehensive agenda will include a site visit to two selected Health Centres providing integrated health services, presentations, panel discussions, plenary discussions, and recommendations.

Follow us on our Social Media accounts for live updates: @AICSAddisAbeba on Facebook and Twitter.

[1] STEPS Survey on Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases and prevalence of selected NCDs in Ethiopia. Summary Report. EPHI-FMoH-WHO, December 2016.

[2] National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP) for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in Ethiopia 2019-2025 FMoH.