Urban Livelihoods Learning Paper Main lessons learned in Year 1 of Concern Worldwide's experience in Ethiopia as part of the KOICA programme Urban Livelihood Improvement: Developing vocational skills through private sector engagement.
Context Ethiopia has a population of approximately 132 million people, making it the 10th most populous country in the world. The percentage of the population living below the poverty line has decreased from 30% in 2011 to 24% in 2016, indicating progress in poverty reduction 1 *. However, recent issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Northern conflict, and the 2023 Amhara crisis, along with the declaration of a state of emergency, have led to nationwide security concerns, displacement, unemployment, and inequality. These challenges have had a detrimental impact on the socio-economic development previously achieved. According to the 2023 International Organization for Migration (IOM) Migration Report, between November 2023 to January 2024, over 3.14 million people were displaced primarily by conflict (68.7%) and drought (16.5%). The rapid influx to Ethiopia’s cities has made labour issues a prominent urban problem with the government estimating an increase of over 2 million people annually into the labour market 2. Furthermore, an inappropriate support system has led to an imbalance between labour demand and supply, especially in Addis Ababa where the 2022 unemployment rate was high and demonstrated a significant gender gap, with women experiencing a rate 1.5 times higher than men. As a result, rapid urbanization has led to the expansion of informal settlements around urban centres, exacerbating the vulnerability of marginalized women who have been neglected. They face unemployment, insufficient income activities, poor living conditions, and reduced access to basic services. In addition, immigrants often leave behind their support systems and settle in unfamiliar environments, making it even more challenging to secure the necessary resources for their livelihoods, such as initial assets and job skills.
Programme Overview The KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) funded urban livelihood programme (April 2024 to December 2026) was developed based on a multi-sector context analysis. It is the first project in many years to be implemented in the urban context of Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa by Concern, with a population of 5,956,680 according to World Population Review report3. The programme is being implemented to in two sub-city administrations; Yeka and Kirkos, located in the peripheries of urban centres with numerous informal settlements, and inadequate urban infrastructure such as clean water, electricity supply, and waste management.
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This information is from the World Bank's Poverty & Equity Brief (2023), and the 2015/2016 data is the most recent data available for measuring the poverty line. In addition, the Global Hunger Index, which measures malnutrition, child stunting, child underweight, and child mortality, has decreased from 53.6 points in 2000 to 27.6 points in 2022. 2 Ethiopian Job Creation Commission (2019) 3 Addis Ababa Population 2025 1