Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half the population is under-nourished and 80% live on less than US$2 a day. Ethiopia is a signatory to the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, but older people's voices are rarely heard in poverty-reduction processes.

Aims

This project, funded by the Development Assistance Group, aimed to improve the quality of life of poor older people and their communities by increasing older people's participation in development planning.

Activities

HelpAge International worked in two poor woredas (districts) of southern Ethiopia with the Rift Valley Children and Women Development Association and HUNDEE-Oromo Grassroots Development Initiative.

Ethiopia’s decentralised poverty reduction programme (SDPRP) provided an opportunity for engagement at local level. The first step was to assess the capacity of woreda governments to plan and manage development projects and agree areas where this could be strengthened.

At a project launch in each woreda, a committee was established to select 12 peasant associations (the lowest level of government administration) to work with – those in the most deprived areas.

Older members of each peasant association were elected to form monitoring groups, one each for men and women, so that their different views would be represented. Following training in participatory rural appraisal, the older people's monitoring groups consulted their communities to identify priorities for inclusion in woreda development plans.

Each monitoring group selected a representative to sit on a special “apex” group. The apex group had a place on the woreda development committee, the body responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring development projects.

A three-day workshop was held in each woreda for apex group members, woreda officials and partner NGO staff, to agree indicators for monitoring basic services.

They also agreed how the woreda government would respond to priorities identified by communities. The apex groups and woreda development committee members monitored delivery of key services on a quarterly basis.

A community fund was set up to pilot participatory planning and management processes. It was jointly managed by the woreda government, the apex group and partner NGO. Older people's monitoring groups and apex groups monitored use of funds.

Achievements

Building on older people’s traditional role as community leaders, the project enabled older people to provide a formal link between their communities and woreda governments, and contribute to district planning.

The community fund financed 14 projects, including water supply, health post construction and non-formal education classes, in line with the priorities identified by poor communities.

Overall, the project increased poor older people's understanding of community issues, government plans and budgets, and the SDPRP. It established older people’s role in woreda-level planning.

Communities became better organised to demand their rights. The project also increased woreda officials’ awareness of the SDPRP and their ability to engage with communities.

“The Government has never come to our areas with development work, and asked us what we want,” says one apex group member from Mulo Sululta woreda. “This is the first time in all my life. Our voice is heard through this project.”