Young Lives Round 2 Survey Report: Ethiopia

This report presents initial findings from the second round of the Young Lives household and child survey which was carried out in late 2006 to early 2007. It does not aim to give a comprehensive overview of all the findings from Young Lives, rather it gives a broad outline of some of the key indicators of childhood poverty and changes that have taken place in the children’s lives between the first round of data collection in 2002 and this second round.

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world and ranks among the lowest for most human development indicators. The economy has experienced a trend of sustained economic growth following the reform programmes implemented since 1991 when the military government was ousted. However, it is still largely dominated by agriculture, which is highly sensitive to rainfall. Millions of Ethiopians are dependent on food aid every year, and at time of writing this report (2008), the recent rapid global food price increases represent a further challenge. Despite the government’s best efforts and the improvements since 1991, most of Ethiopia’s children continue to live with ‘not enough’ in terms of reproductive or productive assets, explain what this means food and other consumption goods, and basic services and opportunities.

From our survey data, there are signs that the economic growth and improved access to services have been broadly inclusive. We see that children’s well-being – in all dimensions – is strongly linked to, and determined by, their socio-economic status and parents’ backgrounds. Over the past 5 years, there have been obvious improvements in basic services, and school enrolment is up, although quality of education is now a key priority for the government. Nutrition remains a challenge, with high levels of under-nutrition, although in other ways we have seen obvious recovery following the 2002 drought.