Ethiopia’s location gives it strategic dominance as a jumping off point in the Horn of Africa, close to the Middle East and its markets.

In 2025, Ethiopia continues to face overlapping and complex humanitarian challenges driven by conflict, climate shocks, disease outbreaks, and economic hardship. Although national development efforts have made notable progress over the past decade, particularly in expanding access to basic services and reducing poverty, multiple natural and man-made crises have reversed gains in many regions. As a result, millions remain in urgent need of assistance across sectors, including food, nutrition, health, protection, education, water, sanitation and hygiene and shelter. 

In the regions of Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia, Somali and Tigray, a combination of conflict, violence, climate shocks and disease outbreaks has led to displacement, food insecurity, and the disruption of essential services. In some areas, entire communities lack access to safe water, medical care, adequate shelter, or education. The urban poor and chronically underserved rural populations also continue to experience critical gaps in services and livelihoods. 

Multiple disease outbreaks have also been reported around the country because of people’s deepening vulnerability compounded by the lack of adequate access to social services.

Humanitarian needs driven by conflict, violence, climate shocks and disease outbreaks will continue to require sustained attention from the government, humanitarian actors and development partners. In some regions, conflict and violence show no sign of abating. Protracted displacements (much of it lasting over three years) will require continued life-sustaining assistance, pending full recovery and rehabilitation. Public health emergencies continue to exacerbate humanitarian needs, particularly in areas affected by displacement, poor sanitation, and limited access to basic services. Cholera, malaria, and measles remain the most significant disease outbreaks, placing considerable strain on an already overstretched health system.

Development Challenges

Ethiopia seeks to chart a development path that is sustainable and inclusive to accelerate poverty reduction and boost shared prosperity.

• Addressing macroeconomic distortions that constrain private sector development, structural transformation, and generation of jobs.
• Reducing the incidence of conflict, persisting throughout the country, not least as the related displacement, loss of livelihoods, and human capital (through learning and health impacts) amplifies vulnerability to climate and other shocks that Ethiopia is exposed to.
• Overcoming the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban employment levels have not recovered fully, some households and firms continue to report income losses, and poverty is estimated to have increased.

• Addressing food insecurity, which is growing due to adverse weather events, locust invasion, conflict, and global conditions leads to high food price inflation. Frequent severe weather events alongside long-term impacts of climate change undermine agriculture and pastoral livelihoods as well as food security. The 2022 drought is the worst in forty years, severely affecting millions in the southern and eastern parts of the country. Overall, more than 20 million persons are facing severe food insecurity in 2023.
• Improving human capital. Ethiopia’s Human Capital Index is at a low 0.38 (2020). Learning poverty stands at 90% and 37% of children under 5 years of age are stunted.

• Generating good jobs. The country’s growing workforce (with roughly 2 million persons reaching working age per year) puts pressure on the absorption capacity of the labor market, and necessitates improving current jobs, while creating sufficient new jobs.

Source: World Bank, 2024 / OCHA, 2026

Closed projects

CHANGE project: it is part of The Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) launched by the legacy Department for International Development (DFID), now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), in 2012, as a 12-year commitment to reach the most marginalised girls in the world through quality education and learning. People in Need worked with Alliance2015 partners Concern Worldwide, Welthungerhilfe, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, and Amref Health Africa Foundation and two national partners, FSA and GPDI.

Keeping girls learning through COVID-19
Helping girls staying in school
Educating future female leaders
A teacher who fights for students’ right to an education