[{"bbox": [97, 152, 1134, 204], "category": "Text", "text": "The Humanitarian-Development nexus will be operationalised by supporting target rural households in terms of immediate food access and child acute malnutrition."}, {"bbox": [97, 256, 1134, 417], "category": "Text", "text": "In terms of low availability of nutritious food, this will be addressed by two essential multi-donor interventions to increase food production in conflict/drought stricken areas: a) support to respond to the needs of improved seeds as one of the essential input for agriculture recovery, and b) support irrigation in the low lands as a means to limit the dependency on rain-fed agriculture in those regions. Specific support to the dissemination of bio-fortified and nutrient dense crops will be provided, while ensuring a nutrition-sensitive approach across the actions targeting vulnerable rural populations in Ethiopia."}, {"bbox": [97, 428, 1134, 536], "category": "Text", "text": "This Action has a budget of EUR 75 000 000, and will have a duration of 48 months. The main beneficiaries of this Action will be the most vulnerable populations, in particular those affected by drought and conflict (including people with disabilities and displaced populations) in rural areas of Ethiopia. Their needs will be addressed through the support proposed through food security and social protection."}, {"bbox": [97, 547, 1057, 575], "category": "Text", "text": "The Action will use multi donor framework programmes or initiatives in order to maximise EU leverage."}, {"bbox": [85, 614, 323, 647], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 677, 234, 705], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [97, 720, 1134, 934], "category": "Text", "text": "This Individual Measure focuses on food insecurity in Ethiopia, a major challenge already under normal circumstances, which has severely aggravated due to the combined effects of conflicts and drought. In a normal year, an average 8 million Ethiopians people are classified as food insecure (IPC level 3 and above⁴). For 2022, over 20 million Ethiopian are considered food insecure due to multi-layered factors including internal displacement, natural hazards and farming disruption. Women and girls are amongst the most vulnerable groups in terms of nutrition, particularly pregnant and lactating mothers, adolescent girls, infants and young female children making the country rank 108 out of 113 countries in the latest Global Food Security Index, which measures food affordability, availability, quality and safety."}, {"bbox": [97, 945, 1134, 1239], "category": "Text", "text": "In this context, addressing human development is essential, not only to address the needs arising from the conflict, but also for the economic development of the country, its political and social stability, and to improve the livelihoods of the population to drive the reduction of poverty and inequality. It is vital that the EU ensures continued support to people in need in Ethiopia, including those affected by the conflict. The provision of support through a Individual Measure is consistent with a gradual approach in response to Ethiopia's current political crisis, which has led to a suspension of the approval of a Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) for the period 2021-2027. The increasing needs of the communities living in the most vulnerable situations in Ethiopia, in particular girls and women as well as PWDs must be addressed promptly and in complementarity with humanitarian assistance through the operationalisation of the Humanitarian-Development nexus. Without an international response in the form of crisis-oriented development cooperation including the EU contribution proposed here, Ethiopia is at risk of falling back to food insecurity levels of more than a decade ago."}, {"bbox": [97, 1249, 1134, 1517], "category": "Text", "text": "Ethiopia's food security strategy has a multi-pronged approach. It addresses the different aspects of food insecurity: access, availability, utilisation and stability. The strategy is part of the 2021-2030 National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plan as well as the National Food and Nutrition Strategy 2020-2030, including the Seqota Declaration commitments against malnutrition, under the overarching Ethiopian Food Systems Transformation Agenda (2021). In terms of availability, the government's strategy is to invest in flagship programmes having impact on the national food security, import substitution, foreign exchange earnings, creation of employment opportunities, supplying inputs for agro-processing industries, and since recently, expanding of irrigation schemes for dry season's food crop production. Finally, despite agriculture being the main economic sector regarding employment in Ethiopia, covering around 80% of all employment of which 47% are women, there are large gender imbalances as women do not participate equally in decision-making processes and have less access"}, {"bbox": [85, 1596, 1140, 1620], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Integrated Food Security Phased Classification: Level 3 “Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis”, level 4 “Humanitarian” and level 5 “Famine”)"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1680, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 22"}]