The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Ethiopia on Thursday signed partnership agreements with four non-governmental organizations to lift 3,000 people from street and rehabilitate.
The program will be executed as part of government’s urban productive safety net program, which aims to address the economic and social problems of the disadvantaged urban dwellers. Through the finance obtained from the World Bank to the government is planning to lift 22,000 people from the streets of Ethiopia and integrate with the society in partnership with different local humanitarian organizations, according Ergoge Tesfaye (PhD) Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Ethiopia.
The four local humanitarian organizations known for lifting elders and people with mental problems from streets, which signed the partnership with the Ministry to host the 3,000 people in the first round, are Makedonia, KibreAregawiyan, Mekdim and Sedekiyas. During the signing of the agreement it is indicated that the 3,000 people will be lifted from the streets of the capital, Addis Ababa, Adama, Harar and Desse .The first beneficiaries of the program are 2754 people from the streets of Addis Ababa , 197 from Desse, 143 from Adama and 110 from Harar city.
Women living on streets with children and elderly people are among those who benefit from the program. The Ministry will be mobilizing finance and monitors the process of rehabilitating the beneficiaries of the program and integrating them with the society. It is indicated that before joining the rehabilitation centers, the 3,000 people coming from streets, the Ministry will quarantine them for two weeks to make sure that they are free from COVID-19 pandemic.