Ethiopia gets $31M to fight malnourishment

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) – Ethiopia on Monday secured a grant of $31 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to cope with malnutrition and stunting in children.

The agreement, signed by Finance Minister Yasmin Wohabrebbi and AfDB East Africa regional official Abdu B. Kamara, will be implemented in Amhara and Tigray regions, the state-owned Ethiopian News Agency reported.

During the signing ceremony, Yasmin said the grant would be used to further support efforts to eradicate the underlying causes of chronic undernutrition and stunting in children.

It would also support the implementation of the Food and Nutrition Strategy of Ethiopia which aims to deliver high-impact nutrition-specific and infrastructure interventions across multiple sectors such as health, agriculture, water, education, and environment, she said.

Kamara said the financial commitment was part of AfDB’s continued support to the development of Ethiopia and would contribute to the country’s plan to reduce and end stunting.

The government of Ethiopia signed Seqota Declaration in July 2015 to end child malnutrition by 2030.

Under its 10-year prospective plan, the Horn of Africa nation envisages reducing stunting from 37% to 13% for children under the age of 5, and from 7% to 3% for infants under the age of 1.