The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Director Announces $7.7 Million Investment in Amhara Region – African Business

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Ethiopia Mission Director Sean Jones announced a new $7.7 million investment to train the next generation of 750 Ethiopian disaster risk management professionals at Bahir Dar University (BDU), where he also met with university vice-president, Dr. Tesfaye Shiferaw.  This new investment, Feeding the Future Ethiopia, is the largest external investment in the history at BDU.  It follows nearly two decades of U.S. government support to BDU, including funding the university’s Institute of Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Studies.

Mission Director Jones met with Dr. Diress Sashilu, the Mayor of Bahir Dar.  They discussed USAID’s historical support, urgent needs facing communities in the Amhara Region and continued U.S. support for peace and stability in the region.  Mr. Jones thanked Dr. Diress Sahilu for the city’s decades of close partnership with USAID.  As he met with local officials, humanitarian organizations, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), Mr. Jones reaffirmed the American people’s longstanding partnership with the people of Ethiopia.

Mission Director Jones also visited USAID’s partners at the Amhara Regional Health Bureau, including the bureau head, Dr. Melkamu Abte, to hand over eight USAID motor vehicles the bureau had requested to help the region in its life saving work.  These vehicles, valued at more than $400,000 will be used for essential medicines and medical equipment delivery to health facilities as well as transporting doctors and medical staff to the most difficult-to-reach areas of Amhara Region.  Mr. Jones discussed the United States government’s support for the Amhara Regional Health Bureau, which includes over $4 million to provide emergency medicine and repairs to health facilities damaged by the Northern Conflict.

Lastly, Mr. Jones visited the Organization for Rehabilitation & Development in Amhara (ORDA), where he met with ORDA Executive Director Alemayehu Wassie and representatives of internally displaced peoples (IDPs) and host communities in Amhara Region.  Over a shared fasting lunch, Mr. Jones listened to the IDP and community representatives’ concerns, spoke about the ongoing efforts by the U.S. government to provide lifesaving assistance, and learned more about how USAID can better support people across the region.

The United States is committed to Ethiopia’s health, welfare, prosperity, and future.  USAID has invested more than $1.2 Billion in development and humanitarian aid throughout the country by 2021.  The Amhara Region alone has received over $430 million in humanitarian aid and development aid from the Americans in the past two years.  This is another example proving the cooperation between the Americans and Ethiopians.

Distributed by APO Group, U.S. Embassy Ethiopia.