Addis Ababa

(Ethiopia) The European Union (EU) on Wednesday gave Ethiopia a 20.23 million Euro grant as a safety net program.

The European Union delegation in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development signed the grant agreement, which is expected to support the country’s on-going safety net programs.

According to the agreement, the money will be utilized in 268 food insecure districts of the country.

Around seven million people in rural parts of Ethiopia are estimated to be beneficiaries of safety net programs, which the Ethiopian government is undertaking in collaboration with its development partners with a multi-million dollar annual budget.

The safety net program was first introduced five years ago, which aims to help poor farmers to enhance their annual income.

Since then, the EU has given Ethiopia 42 million Euro, with which various activities are still being carried out in the Somali, Tigray and Afar regional states of Ethiopia that were affected by landmines in various conflicts in the past.

APA