Situation Analysis of Children and Women: Benishangul-Gumuz Region Situation Analysis of Children and Women: Benishangul-Gumuz Region ABSTRACT The Situation Analysis covers selected dimensions of child well-being in Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State. It builds on the national Situation Analysis of Children and Women in Ethiopia (2019) and on other existing research, with inputs from specialists in Government, UNICEF Ethiopia and other partners. It has an estimated population of approximately 1.1 million people, which constitutes 1.1% of the total Ethiopian population. The population is young: 13 per cent is under-five years of age and 44 per cent is under 18 years of age. Since 1999/00, Benishangul-Gumuz has experienced an impressive 28 percentage point decline in monetary poverty, but 27 per cent of the population are still poor; the second highest in the country after Tigray and higher than the national average of 24 per cent. SITUATION ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN: BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ REGION 4 Food poverty continued a steep decline from 55 per cent in 1999/00 to 24 per cent in 2015/16; close to the national average of 25 per cent. In Benishangul-Gumuz, in 2014, only 1.1 per cent of rural households were in the PSNP compared to 11 per cent of households at the national level In 2011, the under-five mortality rate in Benishangul-Gumuz was the highest in Ethiopia (169 per 1,000 live births); this declined significantly, but is still very high: 96 deaths per 1,000 births, which is the second highest in the country after Afar. The infant mortality rate declined from 101 deaths per 1,000 births in 2011 to 62 deaths per 1,000 births in 2016. Unlike most other regions, the neonatal mortality rate of 35 deaths per 1,000 live births in Benishangul Gumuz has declined relatively fast and falls under the national average of 38 deaths per 1,000 births. Benishangul-Gumuz has managed to increase basic vaccination coverage for children under age one: from 24 per cent in 2011 to 57 per cent in 2016. The prevalence of wasting and underweight among children under age five have both slightly increased; wasting is twelve per cent and underweight is 34 per cent; the second highest after Afar. The prevalence of anaemia ─ a proxy indicator for iron deficiency ─ among under-five children is far less than the national average: 34 per cent versus 57 per cent. According to the EDHS 2016, 82 per cent of households use improved drinking water sources in Benishangul-Gumuz compared to a national average of 65 per cent. The EDHS data shows that only two per cent of households use improved sanitation facilities in Benishangul-Gumuz, which is a huge challenge; this is 1.5 per cent of rural households and 3.4 per cent of urban households. According to the EDHS 2016, 63 per cent of households in Benishangul-Gumuz have a place for washing hands (nine per cent have a fixed site and 54 per cent have a movable site), which is slightly above the national average of 60 per cent. According to the Education Statistics Annual Abstract (ESAA) 2018/19, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 38 per cent and the Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) of 25 per cent for pre-primary education (ages 4-6) in Benishangul-Gumuz are still quite low. In 2018/19, the GER and the NER for Benishangul-Gumuz primary education stood at 114% and 95%, respectively;1 the high percentages were due to there being more children in primary grades than there are children between 7 and 14 years. The NER trend is negative. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) for Benishangul-Gumuz primary education is 0.86. The EDHS 2016 shows a median age at first marriage of 17.1 years among women aged 20-49 year in Benishangul-Gumuz, an increase from 15.9 years in 2011. Fifty per cent of women aged 20 to 24 married before age 18. FGM prevalence in Benishangul-Gumuz region is 63 per cent among women aged 15 to 49 years and there is not much difference between rural and urban areas. Among circumcised women, three per cent have undergone the most severe form, infibulation. A striking statistic is that, unlike in most other regions and indeed globally, the richest wealth quintile has 70 per cent prevalence, while the poorest wealth quintile has 45 per cent prevalence. Birth registration is extremely low only one per cent of births being issued birth certificates. 1. MoE, ESAA 2010 E.C. (2017/18). SITUATION ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN: BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ REGION 5 1 THE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT Benishangul-Gumuz, located in north-western Ethiopia, is a small region in terms of land mass and population. Its total area is 0,381 square kilometres, constituting 4.6 per cent of the total land area of Ethiopia. It borders with Amhara regional state in the north and northeast, with Oromia regional state in the south and southeast, and with the Republic of Sudan in the west.2 It has an estimated population of approximately 1.1 million people, which constitutes 1.1% of the total Ethiopian population.3 The population is young: 13 per cent is under-five years of age and 44 per cent is under 18 years of age.4 The total fertility rate is 4.4 per women (ages 15-49).5 This rate has been declining; it was 5.2 in 2011 and 2005.6 The region’s administrative centre is located in Assosa. There ethnic groups include the indigenous Berta (also called Benishangul), Gumuz, Shinasha, Mao and Komo. The federal government of Ethiopia has classified Benishangul-Gumuz region as a Developing Regional State (DRS).7 ...The Federal Government of Ethiopia has classified Benishangul-Gumuz region as one of four Developing Regional States. (DRS) Table 1: Total population, Ethiopia and Benishangul-Gumuz, 2019 Benishangul- Demographics National Gumuz Total population (2019 projection based on the 2007 Census; CSA) 98,663,000 1,127,000 Total under-18 population (2019 projection based on 2007 Census, CSA) 44,714,454 496,422 Total under-5 population (2019 projection based on the 2007 Census, CSA) 13,605,728 149,255 In the region, 77 per cent of the population live in rural areas and 23 per cent live in urban areas.8 Its economy is largely dependent on agriculture, including crops, livestock and forestry. There is potential for agricultural productivity gains. Many farmers still rely on ploughing by hand or oxen. In recent years, large amounts of land have been leased to (mainly international) investors in agriculture, who have brought in modern farming techniques and created employment, although not always for local people. More agricultural investments are needed to increase knowledge, skills and access to seeds and fertilizer, as well as new techniques and wise environmental and conservation measures. Small farmers need to be integrated into value chains. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the headwaters of the Blue Nile in Benishangul Gumuz region began construction in 2011 but was delayed in 20189 and subsequently delayed due to disagreements between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.10 When completed, it will be the largest hydropower project in Africa. 2. Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State REDD+Design: A Regional model for REDD+ under the UNFCCC Warsaw Framework. UNDP. 2017. P.2 3. 2019 projection based on the 2007 Census; CSA. 4. Data on the age group 0-19 comes from the CSA, Welfare Monitoring Survey 2016 (Vol. I), p. 30. 5. EDHS 2016, p. 84. 6. See EDHS 2005 and 2011. 7. The four DRSs are Benishangul-Gumuz, Afar, Somali and Gambella. 8. 2019 projection based on the 2007 Census; CSA. 9. https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2018/11/15/abiy-attacks-impunity-as-metec-and-niss-officials-held-for-graft-and-torture/. 10. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/2/79575/Ethiopia-asks-for-South-Africa%E2%80%99s-mediation-in-Renaissance-Dam- talks. Accessed 14 January 2020. SITUATION ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN: BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ REGION 6 2 POVERTY, DEPRIVATION AND VULNERABILITY Since 1999/00, Benishangul-Gumuz has experienced an impressive 28 percentage point decline in monetary poverty (Figure 1 and Table 2).11 However, it is concerning that the 27 per cent headcount poverty rate is still high; the second highest in the country after Tigray. Moreover, as Figure 1 clearly shows, the decline in poverty slowed down between 2010/11 and 2015/16. As in most other regions, rural poverty is higher than urban poverty: 29 per cent versus 18 per cent, respectively.12 In contrast to monetary poverty, the per cent of people living below the food poverty line continued a steep decline from 55 per cent in 1999/00 to 24 per cent in 2015/16, about the same as the national average of 25 per cent. Twenty-five per cent of rural people in Benishangul-Gumuz are poor compared with only 18 per cent of urban people.13 Figure 1: Trends in poverty headcount from 1995/96 to 2015/16, Ethiopia and Benishangul-Gumuz. Source: HICES 1995/96, 1999/2000, HCE 2010/11 and 2015/16. 0% 50% 0% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1995/9 1999/00 200/05 2010/11 2015/1 People living below the national poverty line (%) o People living below the national poverty line (%) B Table 2: Trends in monetary and food poverty, Ethiopia and Benishangul-Gumuz, 1995/96-2015/16 Poverty HICES: 1995/96 1999/00 2004/05 2010/11 2015/16 People living below the national National 45.5% 44.2% 38.7% 29.6% 23.5% poverty line (%) BG 46.8% 54.0% 44.5% 28.9% 26.5% People living below the food poverty National 49.5% 41.9% 38.0% 33.6% 24.8% line (%) BG 59.2% 55.2% 44.4% 35.1% 23.7% 11.