- USAID hosts high level forum on Food Security
ADDIS ABABA – The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia announced that a combined investment of over 605 million USD is implemented to improve the resilience of vulnerable Ethiopian households.
The projects are implemented in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Food for the Hungry (FH), and World Vision (WV).
In a press release sent to The Ethiopian Herald, the embassy expressed that the U.S. through its Agency for International Development (USAID), hosted a successful two-day event under the theme : “Food Security in Action: Advancing Resilience, in Addis.”
The event highlighted the achievements and lessons learned from USAID’s programmatic contribution to the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), Ethiopia. The three distinct projects of a combined investment worth over 605 million USD were stated.
In his opening speech, USAID’s Deputy Mission Director, Timothy Stein encouraged participants to keep the hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of these projects in mind.
He highlighted the fact that “Assistance from USAID Spans from Emergency Humanitarian Assistance, to the Expansive Safety Net of the PSNP, to investments to build the fully food-secure Ethiopia of the future.”
The aforementioned partnership encompasses a broad range of interventions across sectors, including direct financial support, mental health support services, targeted business coaching, and grants of food, seed and other materials.
“The U.S. government is the largest bilateral donor to the PSNP, making the three projects showcased in this event part of a longstanding commitment to and investment in a resilient and food-secure Ethiopia,” Stein said in the release.
The information indicated that through these interventions, this suite of projects increases the resilience of Ethiopians, making them more resistant to sudden shocks, and less reliant on emergency food assistance in times of stress.
The various stakeholders and participants are now in a better position to implement programming that improves the resilience of vulnerable Ethiopian households, so that they are better able to help themselves.
In the workshop, panel discussions, interactive displays and a gallery walk, the event showcased the impact of USAID programs on vulnerable and chronically food-insecure households. In a similar manner, a diverse group of high-level stakeholders, including senior government officials, representatives from donor countries and agencies, and USAID implementing partners in attendant, The Ethiopian Herald learned.
BY MESERET BEHAILU
The Ethiopian Herald December 22/2024
