Ethiopia’s National Dryland Restoration Strategy was officially endorsed by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and by Ethiopia Forest Development (EFD) on 10th February 2022. The Strategy underscores the integration of trees, crops, livestock, and livelihoods at both landscape and policy levels, and also emphasizes the need for collaboration between federal, regional, and local government agencies, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, local communities, and development partners in the implementation process. 

This Strategy is the first of its kind in Ethiopia and it affirms the importance of drylands in Ethiopia’s economy and livelihoods, calling for the participation of all in their restoration, with a special emphasis on the crucial role of women, youth, pastoral, and agro-pastoral communities. The Strategy is also keen to maintain environmental sustainability and ecological conservation. 

There is much commitment from stakeholders to oversee the implementation of this strategy, with key actors being the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Planning and Development, who will work to create actionable implementation steps. If well implemented, this Strategy will not only ensure Ethiopia’s economic development, but also its inclusivity, keeping local communities at the center of all efforts being made to ensure the Strategy’s success.

The Ethiopian government has launched a 5-year School Health and Nutrition Strategy and Action Plan aimed at dually improving the health and educational outcomes of school children. 

This action plan is centered around the provision of basic health services in schools such as deworming, health education, and vision screening. Beyond benefiting the children’s’ health, this approach is also aimed at increasing school going rates as a direct correlation has been established between provision of health services at schools, and increased school going. 

The strategy covers the four Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH) pillars of: health related school policies, safe school environments, and health education and school health and nutrition services to promote more sustainable and coordinated health interventions in the education sector.