DSW Ethiopia Formally Launches an Integrated Intervention

A half-day formal launch workshop was held on 31 January 2025 at DSW’s Youth Development Training Center in Bishoftu (Debrezeit). This new four-year project has been designed and integrated into a multi-sectoral approach focusing on “Sexual and Reproductive Health and Livelihood Empowerment of Young People for Positive Coexistence with their Environment.” 

More than eighty stakeholders from multi-sectoral offices and bureaus representing the Oromia Regional State, where the project will be implemented over the next four years, were invited to the kick-off workshop. In his opening speech, Feyera Assefa, Country Director of DSW Ethiopia, briefly highlighted DSW’s expertise across a wide range of thematic areas and the rationale for the intervention in the particular targeted area.

“Bishoftu, where we established a youth development training centre 21 years ago, is the targeted home city for implementation of this project. Taking advantage over our own training center located conveniently in the city centre, we used it as a good practice documentation and demonstration site, involving various environmental issues, livelihood-related economic empowerment interventions and promoting the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services for young people,” Feyera remarked.

He also underlined the population growth and the vulnerability of the youth in Bishoftu, mainly caused by various socioeconomic and environmental factors. “Located less than forty kilometers southeast of the capital (Addis Ababa), Bishoftu city is home to the industrial zones and has also attracted many more young people who have migrated from many other places, including towns and rural areas further away.” Noting that Feyera further cited relevant evidence for the intervention, he said, “According to a recent study, the population of Bishoftu has already doubled in a short span of time in the last decade alone.” He rationalised the need for the integrated intervention to address the lack of access to the youth-friendly SRH services, the bulging unemployed youth residents and other migrants who remain vulnerable and yet contribute to the challenges of deforestation and the poor sanitation system to manage, among other driving factors affecting the environment includes the industrial residue.”

Two keynote speakers also expressed their enthusiasm for the integrated approach initiated by DSW in Bishoftu, and each pledged their commitment to its success.  

“We appreciate this project because it is an integrated project that addresses, among other things, thematic issues, and the environment is its core focus,” says Shumi Negash, representative of the Environmental Protection Authority at Oromia Regional State. In his keynote speech, the official reiterated the facts about Bishoftu City, which is home to one of the country’s fastest and highest growing youth populations due to the expansion of industrial parks and migration. “We see this project as an opportunity in our community development efforts,” Shumi concluded on a positive note. 

For his part, Abebe Bekele, a senior director at the Oromia Health Bureau, spoke of the region-wide challenges in focusing the efforts to address adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) needs. However, he particularly highlighted the limited access to AYSRH information and services for in Bishoftu City. As a result, Abebe said, “we have observed high rates of teenage pregnancy and unmet family planning needs. We would therefore like to welcome DSW’s initiative to implement an integrated project in Bishoftu City that will provide opportunities for many young people. Not only will they be able to benefit from their AYSRH wellbeing but they can also take part as stakeholders in the project,” Abebe concluded.  

When Adugna Amenu, DSW Ethiopia’s MELR (Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Research) Manager, presented the key background information on the project, the responsibilities of each sector office’s coordinating roles in the project were clearly defined. Adugna’s presentation showed the roles and structure that create the enabling environment for the implementation of the integrated project. Accordingly, Adugna described those as the key signatories among stakeholders at the regional level who form the steering committee, woreda/district advisory and project support groups at the grassroots level. Before the half-day kick-off workshop ended, a plenary session of expert voices and stakeholder discussions created an atmosphere of enthusiasm for the integrated intervention.   

Technically supported and funded by the German-based MeRCK Family Foundation and Karl Kübel Stiftung für Kind und Familie, this project will run for four years from January 2025, integrating sexual and reproductive health issues, the livelihood needs of young people and the environment for their positive coexistence. The intervention will target a total of eleven districts found within the greater Bishoftu City. More than seventy-two thousand adolescents, young girls and women are expected to directly benefit from this project in an integrated approach.