Press Review 10 October 2017 - 17 February 2018 Deutsch-Äthiopischer Verein Press Review - Nachrichten und Meinungen aus und zu Äthiopien 10. Oktober 2017 - 17. Februar 2018 Development and Humanitarian Issues ............................................................................................. 1 Politics, Justice, Human Rights ......................................................................................................... 9 Economics ..................................................................................................................................... 103 Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources .......................................................................... 112 Media, Culture, Religion, Education, Social and Health ................................................................ 116 Sport .............................................................................................................................................. 121 Horn of Africa and Foreign Affairs ................................................................................................. 121 Development and Humanitarian Issues 8.2.2018 UNDP and OCHA Chiefs renew call for new way of working . ReliefWeb, UNDP Report of 31.1.2018 Breaking down the silos between humanitarian and development actors to address recurrent crises The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner and the United Nations Under-Secretary- General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock concluded a three-day joint mission to Ethiopia by urging all stakeholders to increase cooperation to withstand humanitarian and climate-related crises. The goal of the visit was to assess impact of recent droughts and highlight Ethiopia’s efforts to strengthen its national systems and the relevance of the UN’s new approach to crises or ‘New Way of Working’ (NWOW). The two senior UN officials began their visit on Saturday 27 January with a field visit to Gode, in the Somali region, which is home to more than 400,000 conflict-affected internally displaced persons and where current relief activities are targeting more than 3.3 million beneficiaries. Another highlight of the trip was a high–level event held in Addis Ababa on Monday 29 January, on the margins of the 30th African Union Summit under the theme “New Way of Working — From Vision to Action. National, Regional and Global Experience”. Co- hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the event was meant to galvanize stakeholders’ support for ongoing work on the NWOW in Africa in general and in Ethiopia in particular. Underscoring the UN’s commitment to this new paradigm, SG Guterres said: “We have a moral obligation to do better and we have the tools and knowledge to deliver on that obligation. We must break down the silos that have existed for too long between humanitarian and development actors .” “The new way of working is very relevant to Ethiopia, as it will reinforce the systems and institutions the country has been building and strengthening over the past several years, with a focus to build resilience through development work while addressing the humanitarian agenda in an integrated and sustainable way,” said the Prime Minister Desalegn as he pledged his Government support. Outlined at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, the NWOW approach which calls for bridging the divide between humanitarian and development practitioners is also designed for contexts where short-term humanitarian response and medium to long- term development programming are required simultaneously. “While the humanitarian system is very effective in saving millions of lives every year, we could generate greater value for money, better results and solve problems faster if we join up better with development actors.” indicated Mr. Mark Lowcock. Ethiopia has been leading the way in operationalizing the NWoW to build the resilience of its people and reduce the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance. The government is scheduled to call a high level partners meeting to develop concrete actions around NWOW commitments. In an overall assessment of his visit UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner indicated that he is “particularly excited by the latest policy directions we are witnessing in Ethiopia. Many of the systems and policies that have been put in place over the years allow us to look at a situation where the emergency support system is functioning. There is no catastrophe and the economy of Ethiopia is able to continue to develop.” Mr Steiner also added: “As Ethiopia moves into a middle income country it can break many new boundaries and barriers. We want to work together to ensure that all citizens of Ethiopia are able to be part of that future vision of Ethiopia and also the Sustainable Development Goals.” https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/undp-and-ocha-chiefs-renew-call-new-way-working 2.2.2018 Norway, Canada to Strengthen, Boost Cooperation with Ethiopia . Reliefweb Norway and Canada have expressed interest to strengthen and boost their multi-faceted cooperation with Ethiopia. Norway is keen to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, education, health, migration, peace and security; and Canada in food security, agro-business, and peace and security. n an exclusive interview with ENA, Norway’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Andreas Gaarder said, “We are already engaged in areas of agriculture which I always consider as the backbone of our engagement and we are also working in partnership in crucial areas such as education, migration and strengthening good governance and democracy as well as regional stability.” 1 Press Review 10 October 2017 - 17 February 2018 According to him, health is also the major area where his country will broadly engage since global health coverage is still a challenge. There will be no new area of cooperation this year “but a matter of deepening and strengthening the already existing cooperation which is broad all in itself”, he said. Ambassador Gaarder pointed out the recent visit of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and Foreign Minister Marie Eriksen Søreide signifies the breadth and depth of the cooperation between the two countries. peaking about investment in Ethiopia, the Ambassador said “… there is a lot of interest in other areas (besides the potash mining underway in the country), and I sense investors from the region are looking at the Ethiopian market.” Commenting about development in the country, Gaarder said “I am very happy to see the changes that Ethiopia has traveled so far and expect more economic activities between the two countries.” Ethiopia is one of the 12 focus countries for Norwegian development cooperation worldwide and a pilot country for Norway's global education assistance. In 2017 the first direct flight between Oslo and Addis Ababa took place as the first African airline ever to land in Norway, further strengthen the Ethio-Norwegian relationship. Canada’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Philip Baker on his part has expressed his country’s interest in advancing the "excellent" bilateral cooperation with Ethiopia. Empowering women, food security as well as peace and security are few of the many areas that will strengthen our cooperation, he stated, adding that “this is something huge for Canada coming in Ethiopia this year.” “We are looking for more agro-business whereby we can look for Canadian firms to work with Ethiopian firms to add more value to the raw product, be it tomatoes or teff,” the Ambassador said. Baker stated that Canada wants to see more value added products before any product leaves the country and creating massive job opportunities for many young Ethiopians is very important. “The deep-rooted relationship between the two countries is not just built on development, which is strong, but also on trade, policy and partnering,” he emphasized. The flow of Canadian investors and the Ethiopian Airlines flights to Canada have increased over the years and this certainly is a sign of interest to unleash the potential here, Baker said. He noted “Ethiopia is effectively implementing an excellent program on safety net in bringing eight million people out of poverty, half of whom are women.” According to Baker, Ethiopia has a number of comparative advantages and the government is engaged in huge infrastructural investments like roads which will provide access for small communities to get their products to the market. He suggested that the government keep up working on the reform to show the international community that Ethiopia is open for business and safe and stable. Ethiopia is a country of focus for Canada’s international development assistance, and Canada is the third largest bilateral country donor to Ethiopia. Canada’s bilateral development cooperation program is focused on food security, agricultural growth and sustainable economic growth. Interventions also recognize the importance of advancing democracy and human rights to ensure that Ethiopia’s development progress is inclusive and sustainable https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/norway-canada-strengthen-boost-cooperation-ethiopia 29.1.2018 UN Chief warns world hunger on the rise . Addis Standard United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has warned that hunger is on the rise the world over with Africa registering the highest rates. He was speaking during an event organized on the margins of the African Union Summit under the theme “Renewed Partnership