2023.06.19
On June 16, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a grant agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Addis Ababa, the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, to provide grant aid of up to 1,072 million yen for the Project for the Improvement of Social Infrastructure in Amhara and Tigray Regions.
In Ethiopia, the two-year long conflict between the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which began in November 2020, ended with the signing of a peace agreement in November 2022. In response to this, the Ethiopian government is working to reconstruct the infrastructure that was damaged during the conflict in the Amhara and Tigray regions, as well as to resume basic services as quickly as possible and improve their quality. Of particular note, 2.4 million students in the Tigray region (UNICEF, 2023) and 0.7 million students in the Amhara region (UNICEF, 2022) lack access to education, while basic social infrastructure such as schools as well as water and sanitation facilities remain damaged due to the conflict. The reconstruction of these regions is therefore an urgent issue to be addressed.
Signing ceremony
The objective of this project is to improve access to education, clean water, and sanitation in Amhara and Tigray regions. It will do so through the construction and rehabilitation of schools as well as water and sanitation facilities located on school premises—which are also used by local residents—in the target areas, as part of the reconstruction assistance in northern Ethiopia as a whole. The project is expected to benefit 12,000 students and 47,000 people through the construction and rehabilitation of schools as well as water and sanitation facilities.
This project will therefore contribute to the achievement of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Goals 4 (Quality education), 6 (Clean water and sanitation), and 16 (Peace, justice, and strong institutions).
In addition, this project is also a collaboration with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and utilizes one of the GPE co-financing schemes, the “GPE Multiplier,” which matches JICA’s grant aid amount with GPE financial support (with a leverage ratio of 3:1). Through this partnership, about 2.69 million USD from the GPE Multiplier will be made available to the Ethiopian government and is expected to be utilized for the construction and reconstruction of schools as well as water and sanitation facilities in regions beyond JICA’s target areas, and, as a result, to have a significant synergy effect across the regions.
| Country | The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Project title | The Project for the Improvement of Social Infrastructure in Amhara and Tigray Regions |
| Planned implementation period | 42 months, including soft component |
| Executing agency | United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) |
| Target region, facilities | Amhara and Tigray regions |
| Specific project details (provisional) | 1. Facility improvements/equipment procurement 1) Education Classrooms for 17 primary and secondary schools and other existing facilities (science laboratory rooms, libraries and administration buildings, etc.) 2) Water and Sanitation Water facilities (wells, distribution pipes, water storage tanks, public taps, and renovation of existing facilities, etc.) and sanitation facilities in schools (male and female student restrooms and hand-washing rooms, etc.) 2. Soft component Training of school management on hygiene and sanitation practices for students, teachers, and community members |
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