New UN Resident Coordinator Ozonnia Ojielo calls for coherent aid strategy in Ethiopia
via The Reporter Ethiopia1 min read
Ozonnia Ojielo, the newly appointed UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, emphasized the need for more coherent, ambitious, and system-wide collaboration to address humanitarian funding gaps and improve strategic engagements and coordination in Ethiopia. This statement followed a meeting with UNHCR Ethiopia's leadership and staff, where discussions focused on operational priorities, national alignment, and the country's evolving displacement landscape. UNHCR Ethiopia currently operates in 10 field locations, supporting 30 refugee sites and camps, as well as an urban refugee population in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia hosts approximately 1.1 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea. The meeting highlighted a shift towards community-based and refugee-led approaches, stronger partnerships with local organizations, and alignment with national priorities and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. UNHCR leadership also noted Ethiopia's evolving legal environment, which is expanding refugees' access to services, documentation, and economic opportunities. The severity of current funding challenges was presented, with a call for diversified and less-restricted financing, including increased private-sector engagement. Efforts to enhance efficiency through inter-agency collaboration, shared offices, joint procurement, and common services were also outlined.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Reporter Ethiopia.
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