Following the interruption of the project in the Tigray region, due to the outbreak of armed conflict, Alianza Shire is beginning a new project in the refugee camps and host communities of Dollo Ado, on the border with Somalia.

The main goal is to improve living conditions in refugee camps and in their host communities, strengthening local capacities, creating income-generating opportunities and improving access to basic services through the cross-cutting impacts of energy.

The decision to transfer the project to these camps was made in consultation with other actors involved in the project, such as the European Union and UNHCR.

The selection criteria for the refugee camps involved finding a stable zone in terms of security, where our local partner ZOA could easily export the expertise already acquired in the Shire refugee camps.

The Dollo Ado refugee camps and their host communities met the requirements, where there have been no significant conflicts in recent years and where ZOA has experience with other projects in the area.

Furthermore, the Dollo Ado area is ideal for implementing electricity access initiatives since, on the one hand, energy projects have previously been carried out there, and on the other hand, it is an area where electricity service is not yet connected to the national grid, nor will it be in the short or medium term. The closest grid connection point is 200 km away, and does not fit into the existing conventional electrification plans.

Objectives of the new project

The two main objectives of Alianza Shire in this new project are as follows:

1. Improve access to basic services in refugee camps through the supply of sustainable energy in community services, as well as the installation of public lighting. To do this, we will collaborate with local entities to assess energy needs and thus be able to design a solution that is both technologically and organisationally appropriate.
2. Create income-generating opportunities and improve living conditions for the refugee population and host communities through training, creating businesses based on solar power technology and the distribution of Solar Home Systems (SHS), and promoting employment and economic development.

Within this second objective, we aim to promote the creation of companies among the refugee population and host communities, based on photovoltaic technology and the distribution of solar home systems, which will create opportunities for income generation and livelihoods.

In this project, we will also include a line of work based on the systematisation and dissemination of the main experiences and lessons learned during the project, to make them available to the international humanitarian community.

Consequences of the conflict in Tigray

At the beginning of November 2020, political tensions between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Regional Government of Tigray led to an armed conflict that has affected access to basic services, such as electricity, fuel, communications and transportation, in addition to loss of life.

After continuously monitoring the situation in Tigray together with ZOA, a partner organisation in the implementation of the project with a stable presence in the Shire region, and the United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR), Alianza Shire has decided to halt operations in the area. At present, our partner UNHCR, together with other international agencies and international and local organisations, have developed an emergency response throughout the Tigray region, which includes the Shire camps.

At the beginning of September, the nation-wide state of emergency declared by the Ethiopian government came to an end. However, the Government of the Tigray region, home to the refugee camps in which Alianza Shire operates, has decided to extend the state of emergency until the end of the year.

Still, the limitations hardly affect the implementation of the Alianza Shire project, which is why all activities in the camps had resumed as of mid-September.

In the upcoming weeks, the technical design for the extension of the electric distribution grid and street lighting in the camps will be finalized, and a tender for the purchase of electric equipment will be announced shortly.

Furthermore, given the limitations on international travel due to COVID-19, training processes are being reassessed, for capacity building together with various local organizations.

In addition, the provision of electricity for households through solar home systems has continued, leading to the development of the Luz en Casa (Home Lighting) program in the refugee camps and their host communities.

Specifically, in order to create micro-enterprises that support solar home systems, the pre-selection of entrepreneurs among the refugees and host communities is being carried out so they can receive the necessary training.

In addition, awareness-raising workshops have begun with future users of the project.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 28 November 2017: The Government of Ethiopia today formally launched the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), effectively paving the way for the implementation of the nine pledges it made at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in September 2016 in New York.

Through the pledges, which serve as a vehicle for implementing the CRRF in the country, Ethiopia seeks to promote refugees’ self-reliance through an improved and sustainable response that combines wider support to host communities, furthering peaceful coexistence and inclusion of refugees into national development plans. In other words, it aims to promote the protection of refugees.

Host-communities

Ato Solomon Tesfaye, State Minister at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) reconfirmed the government’s commitment to a significant shift in the way it responds to the needs of protection of refugees, including a gradual transition from a camp-based protection model to supporting refugee directly within host-communities.

“The Government of Ethiopia, while maintaining its doors open to refugees, envisages to gradually put an end to the encampment policy in the next ten years and progressively advance the out of camp and local integration options”, he said, calling up on the international community “for its renewed firm commitment to maximize its support for the realization of the nine Pledges”.

Transforming Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the 193 UN Member States that adopted the New York Declaration in September 2016 and pledged to undertake a number of policy measures to transform the lives of refugees including though the expansion of its Out of Camp Policy, issuing work permits and other vital documents to refugees and allowing them to engage in gainful employment, including through job creation in its industrial parks.

Mr. Daniel Endres, UNHCR’s Director of the CRRF Task Team, said CRRF has already started transforming the lives of refugees in Ethiopia as witnessed by the increase in the overall school enrolment rate of refugees and the issuance of vital documents, including birth certificates to refugee children. “The pledges Ethiopia made and the actions it’s taking today are exemplary and inspire many African States,” he said and added that the country needs to be supported to realize its ambitious
objectives.

Representing the donor community, H.E. Mr. Michael Rayon, the US Ambassador to Ethiopia, described the launch of the CRRF as a significant milestone and pledged on behalf of the US government and the donor community to support the government and UNHCR in their effort to implement the pledges.

The launch event at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa was attended by representatives of a wide range of stakeholders, including refugees, government line ministries, diplomatic missions, humanitarian and development organizations as well as UN agencies who all voiced support to the initiative and expressed readiness to help Ethiopia and UNHCR and its partners successfully implement the nine pledges.

Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie, the UN Resident Coordinator in Ethiopia, congratulated the Government and UNHCR for successfully launching the CRRF which serves as a vehicle for implementing the government’s pledges.

“Ethiopia’s practical pledges are proof of the fact that generosity has little to do with wealth but it only needs a big heart.” She also pledged support and commitment on behalf of the UN in Ethiopia. Working under the overall supervision of the Office of the Prime Minister, the government has developed a road map to guide the implementation of the pledges and a Steering Committee set up to oversee the process.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs co-chair the Steering Committee together with UNHCR. The Pledges are in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Ethiopia’s second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII).

CRRF was adopted within the framework of the New York Declaration, where endorsing States reaffirm their commitment to the rights and obligations of refugees under international law.

Currently, Ethiopia hosts some 890,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan.

More about Alianza Shire here.

In 2017, Alianza Shire completed its first project in Adi-Harush camp, where more than 8,000 Eritreans live, providing electricity to a school, community kitchens, and small businesses , as well as the installation of four kilometres of public street lighting.

The impact of Alianza Shire

The impacts of this project have been numerous, including the reduction of deforestation in the area – mainly firewood collection -, reduction of greenhouse gases emissions from firewood and diesel combustion (as well as economic savings) and greater security for girls and women, especially in the night.

Representatives of entities that will collaborate on the project, such as the Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), were also present at this morning’s presentation in the city of Shire.