For years, various crises have been jeopardising the lives of the people living in Ethiopia. Persistent droughts, plagues of locusts, the Covid-19 pandemic and floods as well as the ongoing civil war have led to around 29 million people being dependent on humanitarian aid. More than half of them are children.

The SOS Children's Villages organisation, which has been active in Ethiopia since 1974, primarily supports children and young people in the Tigray region with its emergency aid programme. In 2023, around 20‘000 children and 15‘000 young people and adults received aid here, which focused on food, cash, materials and equipment for schools, child protection and psychosocial support. In 2024, the project aims to provide sufficient food for over 170 highly vulnerable households and psychosocial support for more than 1‘200 children and young people affected by trauma.

In addition, victims of gender-based violence and chronically ill children are supported and children's parliaments are strengthened. Hygiene and sanitary materials are provided, schools are made more aware of the issues of hygiene and healthcare, teachers receive training and school clubs are supported. One of SOS Children's Villages' main concerns is to improve the school performance of over 3‘400 children affected by the war and help to ensure that they continue to attend school.