Ethiopia, AfDB Sign $31mln Grant Financing Agreement (May 10, 2021)

The government of Ethiopia signed a grant financing agreement with the African Development Bank to support its efforts to end the stunting and malnourishment of children in Ethiopia.

Yasmin Wohabrebbi, State Minister of Ministry of Finance, and Dr. Abdu B. Kamara, Deputy Director-General, East Africa Regional Development, and Business Delivery Office, African Development Bank Group signed the Agreement on behalf of the Ethiopian Government and the African Development Bank respectively.

The grant agreement, which amounts to 31.02 Million USD was signed during a ceremony held in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and will be used to support nutrition-specific interventions, including the building of infrastructures to support nutrition programs implemented in various parts of the country.

During the signing ceremony, Yasmin Wohabrebbi, State Minister of Finance of Ethiopia, said this grant agreement will support the implementation of the Seqota Declaration, in which Ethiopia has shown its high-level commitment to end child undernutrition in the country.

She also elaborated on the achievements made by Ethiopia in improving child and maternal nutrition following the Seqota Declaration and said the financing agreement will be used to further support to eradicate the underlying causes of chronic undernutrition and ending stunting among children.

State Minister Yasmin referring to the critical role of nutrition for propelling sustainable development, said this financing agreement builds on and supports the implementation of the Food and Nutrition Strategy of Ethiopia and aims to deliver high-impact nutrition-specific and infrastructure interventions across multiple sectors such as health, agriculture, water, education, and environment.

This financing agreement will be implemented in woredas under the Seqota Declaration program in Amhara and Tigray regions which have been selected for the prevalence of high stunting in the area, Ministry of Finance stated.

It will also be used to develop infrastructure for effective service delivery, livelihood support, production and promotion of nutritious food crops, livestock development, strengthen institutional systems, capacity building of health institutions as well as supporting and project coordination and management interventions that contribute to the stunting reduction.

Beyond this specific AfDB agreement, Ethiopia’s broader strategy for financing the Seqota Declaration increasingly involves tapping into non-traditional global revenue streams. As traditional international aid allocations face shifting priorities, multilateral institutions are encouraging developing nations to explore blended finance models that attract diverse private sector capital to bridge funding gaps in community health initiatives.

This strategic pivot has opened the door for cross-border contributions from the rapidly expanding global digital economy. In recent years, international tech conglomerates, payment processing networks, and overseas digital entertainment providers—ranging from mobile application developers to operators of a casino zonder cruks and independent virtual sports platforms—have begun directing portions of their corporate social responsibility budgets toward high-impact agricultural and sanitation projects in East Africa.

By diversifying its funding base to include these global digital revenues alongside standard multilateral grants, the Ministry of Finance aims to build a much more resilient financial buffer. This multi-tiered approach to financing ensures that essential supply chains for therapeutic foods and critical water infrastructure upgrades in vulnerable districts remain fully operational, insulating the country’s nutritional goals from the unpredictable fluctuations of conventional foreign aid.