Press Release: Denmark signs a cooperation agreement with UNDP and UN Women in Ethiopia

28 March 2019, Addis Ababa - Danish Minister for Development Cooperation H.E. Ulla Tornaes has signed a cooperation agreement with UNDP and UN Women to release a total of US$ 4.5 million for the two UN agencies in support of their work in Ethiopia in the areas of governance and gender.

Minister Tornaes noted As I reflect upon the last three days that I have spent here in Ethiopia, what strikes me most, is the potential and willpower of the women I have met. Significant progress has already been made, but much remains to be done. Only by allowing women and girls to enjoy their full rights, to participate equally in the democratic process, can Ethiopia benefit from the potential that is half the population.

Denmark is providing US$ 3,029,000 to UN Women to build on its ongoing support and to expand two main programs. These areas are UN Women programmes on Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls in Ethiopia and secondly interventions on increasing the participation and effective representation of women in leadership in Ethiopia.

These two programs are in line with the GTP II, in particular pillar eight on women and youth empowerment “Promote women and youth empowerment, ensure their effective participation in the development and democratization process and enable them equitably benefit from the outcomes of development...’ and with emphasis given to addressing the provision/response need of survivors of VAWGs, by setting national targets on the establishment of one-stop centre as well as shelters for rehabilitation of survivors of VAWG.The government of Denmark is also supporting UNDP with Danish krone 10 million, (equivalent to around US$ 1.5 million) for the Supporting Elections for Ethiopia’s Democracy Strengthening (SEEDS) project. UNDP is coordinating this multi-agency project which seeks to assist Ethiopia to hold credible and transparent election.

The SEEDS project will target the following key areas: support the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) by strengthening the institutional capacity to deliver on its mandate; enhance public trust and confidence in the Board and its ability to operate independently and efficiently; build staff capacities to lead an electoral processes, particularly in applying any newly adopted technologies; enable NEBE to be transparent and NEBE’s capability in resolving election related disputes; and complement NEBE’s voter-education programmes.