The Government of Ethiopia, the Basic Service Delivery Group (BSDG) and the Ethiopia Social Accountability Program (ESAP) Development Partners (DPs) conducted Basic Service Delivery (BSD) and Joint Review & Implementation Support (JRIS) national workshop from 6-8 December 2023 at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Addis Ababa.
Aimed at reviewing the status of basic service delivery and ESAP3 implementation, the workshop attracted more than 120 participants drawn from the MoF, the World Bank, UKaid, Austrian Development Agency, Embassy of Sweden, Government of Ireland International Development Programme, VNG International, sector offices and CSOs, among others.
In her opening remarks, H.E Semerita Sewasew, State Minster, MoF, indicated the encouraging results achieved in the delivery of basic services and ESAP implementation in the country, and thanked all involved in the process.
“We’re happy that ESAP implementation in Tigray region has progressed with Woreda Social Accountability Committees (WSACs) established and Community Score Card (CSC) conducted in all 20 target woredas,” highlighted Meskerem Girma, ESAP Team Leader & VNG International Ethiopia Representative, in her ESAP3 status update presentation.
Bo Altena, Project Manager for Ethiopia & Kenya at VNG International, also presented ESAP’s exit strategy, which focuses on independent process facilitation by demand side, SA (social accountability) institutionalization in government systems and mechanisms, and coalition building for SA knowledge management.
The implementation status of agreed actions from the May 2023 BSD-ESAP3 JRIS was presented, and it was highlighted that the Management Agency (MA) has been successful in improving ESAP’s visibility through organizing workshops, sharing success stories and utilizing local and national media.
A new World Bank administered program, Ethiopia Human Capital Operation(HCO), was also launched at the workshop. The five year program, which aims to improve learning outcomes and nutrition services for girls and boys, and to strengthen service delivery and accountability in all regions, including areas affected by conflict, droughts and high levels of refugees, has a total funding of USD$ 405 million.
The HCO will have three components. Component 1 using Program-for-Results (PforR) will support basic service delivery at the woreda level, including for refugees and host communities; component 2 using investment project financing (IPF) will improve human capital outcomes in areas affected by conflicts, droughts, and high level of refugees and strengthen system capacity, including on refugee integration and protection through technical assistance; and component 3 as a zero-dollar contingent emergency response component (CERC) that can be triggered to respond to emergencies if, and when, deemed appropriate.
The JRIS mission national workshop was preceded by a regional workshop and woreda visit across all regions and city administrations.