UN Women, Gov’t of Ethiopia sign project agreement to benefit women

Addis Ababa, July 16, 2022 (FBC) – The United Nations Organization for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the Women and Social Affairs Ministry have signed a project agreement today.

The Ministry of Women and Social Affairs and the United Nations Institute for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (U. N. Women) have signed a project agreement that will be used for the next four years to strengthen their working relationship.

At the signing ceremony, Women and Social Affairs Minister Ergogie Tesfaye said the previous programs on rural women’s empowerment and enhancing the role of national women’s machineries to effectively mainstreaming gender for realization of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Ethiopia were a success.

The ministry was the main implementer of the two successive batches of the joint program of gender equality and women’s empowerment, according to ENA.

The document we are signing today builds upon the success of the previous programs, incorporating proven strategies and interventions that help in expanding and scaling up those we began at a similar scale, she stated.

According to her, the agreement reflects the current circumstances of Ethiopia.

UN Women East and South Africa Regional Office Director,  Maxim Hawinato said on his part that the project agreement marks the renewal of collaboration between UN Women and the Government of Ethiopia.

“Our mandate is to support member states in ensuring that their plans and their objective to support women and girls are supported by the UN,” he added.

According to the director, the document signed today is an encompassing one that is going to capture the efforts that both parties are going to put on the table to support women and girls in Ethiopia for the next four years.

UN Women’s commitments to the economic embankment, violence against women, women’s peace and security as well as governance in terms of participation of women in decision-making in Ethiopia are put together in the document, Hawinato stated.

“We congratulate Ethiopia for the high level of representation of women in the parliament, which is above what we see in several other countries, and the road to parity is well undertaken by Ethiopia,” he said.

The director revealed that UN Women has decided to open a new office in Ethiopia so that its effort will be separated from its office with the African Union; and its effort in support of the Government of Ethiopia will be undivided.