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የኢሕአዴግ ሃሳብና - ጉባዔው
Sunday, 31 August 2008
በጌታቸው ንጋቱ
ገዢው ፓርቲ ኢሕአዴግ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔውን በመስከረም 2ዐዐ1 መጀመሪያ ላይ ያካሂዳል፡፡ ፓርቲው፣ በጉባዔው ላይ የሚያቀርበውን ረቂቅ የፓርቲው አመራሮች ካዩት በኋላ ማሻሻያዎች ካሉ ታክለውበት ለጉባዔው ይቀርባል፡፡
7ተኛው የኢሕአዴግ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ..ስኬታማ ተግባሮቻችንን በማስፋፋት የኢትዮጵያን ሕዳሴ በፅኑ መሠረት ላይ እንገነባለን.. በሚል መሪ ቃል የሚካሄድ ሲሆን በተለያዩ መስኮች ፓርቲው ያካሄዳቸው እንቅስቃሴዎችም በተዘጋጀው ሪፖርት ውስጥ ተካተዋል፡፡ 7ተኛው ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔም የሚወያይበት ዋነኛ አጀንዳ በኢሕአዴግ ምክር ቤት የቀረበው ይኸው ሪፖርት ነው፡፡ ሪፖርቱ በፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ጉዳዮች በዴሞክራሲና በመልካም አስተዳደር፣ በኢኮኖሚና ማህበራዊ ልማት እንዲሁም በውጭ ግንኙነትና አገራዊ ደህንነት ዙሪያ የተጠናቀረ ነው፡፡
..ተሃድሷችን ፍሬ ማፍራት ጀምሯል.. ሲል የሚጀምረው ሪፖርት ድርጅቱ የቆመለትን አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ኘሮግራም በተግባር ላይ ለማዋል ላለፉት 17 ዓመታት በስልጣን ላይ ሆኖ ሲታገል መቆየቱን ይገልፃል፡፡ ከነዚህ ውስጥም በመጀመሪያዎቹ 11 ዓመታት በርካታ ጥያቄዎችን በጥራት አለመመለሳቸውንና ብዙ መሥራት እየተቻለ በግልፅነት እጦት ወደ መቆም ከማምራቱም በላይ በተለይ በኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ጦርነት ወቅት ወደ ማሽቆልቆል አምርቶ እንደነበር ይገልፃል፡፡
በዚሁ የሪፖርቱ መግቢያ ላይ ኢሕአዴግ አገሪቱን በፈጣን እድገትና በተሟላ የዴሞክራሲ አቅጣጫ ማራመድ መጀመሩን ሲገልፅ ..የተያያዝነው የለውጥ ጉዞ በየደረጃው የሚያጋጥሙትን ችግሮችና ፈተናዎች በብስለት እየፈታን በጀመረበት ፍጥነት እንዲቀጥል ለማድረግ ከቻልን መካከለኛ ገቢ ያላቸውን አገሮች ጐራ ካሰብነው ወቅት ጥቂት ቀደም ብለን ልንቀላቀል እንደምንችል በእርግጠኝነት መናገር የምንችልበት ሁኔታ እየተፈጠረ ነው.. ይላል፡፡
ከተሃድሶው በኋላ ሚሊዮኖች የኢሕአዴግን ሰልፍ ተቀላቅለው አባላት መሆናቸውን የሚያመለክተው ሪፖርቱ፣ ..በዚህ መሠረት በአሁኑ ጊዜ ድርጅታችን በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ 4.5 ሚሊዮን ያህል አባላት ያሉት ድርጅት ሆኗል.. ይላል፡፡ ድርጅቱም በከተሞች ያሉትን ሳይጨምር በገጠር ብቻ ከ3.7 ሚሊዮን በላይ የሆኑ ግንባር ቀደም አርሶ አደሮችና የገጠር ሙያተኛ አባላት ለማቀፍ መቻሉንም ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡ ድርጅቱ በገጠር ቀበሌዎች ያለው ህልውናም በነዚሁ ..ግንባር ቀደም አርሶ አደሮች.. ላይ የተመሠረተ መሆኑን ያመለክታል፡፡
አባላቱን በዚህ የትግል ሂደት የሚመራ ራሱን እያበቃ ከፍተኛ አመራርን ጨምሮ በልዩ ልዩ የሥራ መስኮች የሚሠማራ የብቁ የሠው ኃይል ፍላጐት ምንጭ ሆኖ የሚያገለግል የመካከለኛ አመራር ለመፍጠር ከፍተኛ ጥረት መደረጉን ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡ ተከታታይ ስልጠናዎች በመስጠት በ1999 ዓ.ም. ከህዳር እስከ የካቲት በሁለት ዙር 15..354 የከፍተኛና መካከለኛ አመራር፣ በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ክረምት ለ16..ዐዐዐ የመካከለኛ አመራር አባላት ስልጠና መሠጠቱንና እየተሰጠም መሆኑን ያመለክታል፡፡ የቀበሌ አመራሮችንም አቅም ለመገንባት ሁለት ተከታታይ ስልጠናዎች የተሰጡ ሲሆን በድምሩ 46ዐ..ዐዐዐ ያህል የቀበሌ አመራር አባላት መሠልጠናቸው ተገልጿል፡፡ በአሁኑ ጊዜም የትምህርት ደረጃ የሚያሟሉና በተግባር እየተፈተኑ ብቃታቸውን በማረጋገጥ ላይ የሚገኙ በየወረዳው ከ25-30 የሚደርሱ በድምሩ 15 ሺ ያህል የመካከለኛ አመራር ካድሬዎች መመደብ መቻሉንም ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
ኢህአዴግ ሁሉም አባላቱ በመሠረታዊ ድርጅቶችና ከዚያም አልፎ በጥናት ህዋሳት እንዲዋቀሩ መደረጉን ሲገልፅ 4.5 ሚሊዮን አባላቱ በ18..263 ያህል መሠረታዊ ድርጅቶችና በ238..380 ያህል የጥናት ህዋሳት ተደራጅተው የሚንቀሳቀሱበት የጥንካሬ ደረጃ ላይ እንደደረሰ ሪፖርቱ ያስቀምጣል፡፡
በገጠር አካባቢዎች ሴቶችና ወጣቶችን በተመለከተ በርካታ ሥራዎች መሠራታቸውን ሪፖርቱ ሲገልፅ የወጣቶችንና ሴቶችን ተጠቃሚነትና ተሳትፎ የሚያረጋግጡ ፓኬጆች መዘጋጀታቸውን፣ ፓኬጆቹ ከተዘጋጁ በኋላ በተወሰነ ደረጃ ወደ ተግባር መሸጋገር የተቻለ መሆኑንና አሁን ደግሞ ወጣት እና ሴት አባላቶች በአብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲ አመራር ስር የወጣቶችንና የሴቶችን ትግል ለመምራት አስበው በቀረጿቸው የየራሳቸው ኘሮግራሞች የኢህአዴግን ትግል ወደ ከፍተኛ ትግል እንደሚያሸጋግሩ ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
በገጠር አካባቢዎች የሰራቸውን ሥራዎች ፓርቲው ሲዘረዝር ..በገጠር ለኪራይ ሰብሳቢነት አመቺ የነበረው የፖለቲካ ኢኮኖሚ እየተናደ ለልማታዊነትና ዴሞክራሲያዊነት እንዲሁም በእነዚህ ላይ ለተመሠረተ መልካም አስተዳደር የተመቸ ሁኔታ እየተፈጠረ ይገኛል.. ይላል፡፡ አርሶ አደሩ በተቻለው አቅም የፖለቲካ ተሳትፎ ቢያደርግም በቂ ትምህርትና ልምድ ስለሌለው ሥልጠና እንደሚያስፈልገው ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡ በገጠር መልካም አስተዳደርን ለማስፈን እጅግ ተፈላጊ የሆነው የሕዝብን የተደራጀ ተሳትፎ የማረጋገጥ ጉዳይ ይበልጥ እየቀለለና እየተሳካ የሚሄድበት ሁኔታ መፈጠሩንም ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡
በገጠር ያለውን የኢሕአዴግ እንቅስቃሴ በሠፊው የቃኘው ይኸው ሪፖርት በሚቀጥሉት ሁለት ዓመታት በገጠር ዴሞክራሲና መልካም አስተዳደርን ለማጐልበት የሚከተላቸውን አቅጣጫዎች አስቀምጧል፡፡ በቅድሚያ ከዚህ ቀደም የተዘጋጁትን የመልካም አስተዳደር ፓኬጅና የሲቪል ሠርቪስ ማሻሻያ ኘሮግራሞችን ያዋሃደ አንድ ወጥ ኘሮግራም እንደሚቀረፅ፣ በገጠር የሕዝብ ተሳትፎን ለማረጋገጥ የተቋቋሙ የሕዝብ አደረጃጀቶችን ማስፋትና ማጠናከር እንደሚሠራና በገጠር የትምህርትና የባህል ደረጃ ዝቅተኛነት ትምህርት በማስፋፋትና የሕዝቡን የባህል ደረጃ ከፍ የማድረግ ስልቶች እንደሚጠቀም ያመላክታል፡፡
ኢሕአዴግ በከተማ ያለውን የፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ተግባራት አፈፃፀም እና የሚገኝበትን ሁኔታና ቀጣይ ተግባራት አስመልክቶም በአሁኑ ሠዓት በድምሩ ከ7 መቶ ሺህ በላይ የሚቆጠሩ አባላት በከተሞች እንዳሉት ሲገልፅ አባላቱም በሴቶች፣ በወጣቶችና በሌሎችም ማህበራት ውስጥ በመግባት ህብረተሰቡን ለልማትና ለዴሞክራሲ ማታገል መጀመራቸውን ያስረዳል፡፡ ..እጅግ የሚበዛው የከተማ ሕዝብ ኑሮው ከአነስተኛና ጥቃቅን ተቋሞች ላይ ግንባር ቀደም ሚና የሚጫወቱ ግለሰቦችን በአባልነት ለመመልመልና ለማሰልጠን ጥረት ተደርጓል.. የሚለው ሪፖርቱ ለከተሞች በተቀየሱ የትግል አጀንዳዎች ዙሪያ የአባላትን ብቃት ከፍ ማድረግ እንደሚያስፈልግ ይገልፃል፡፡
..የከተማው የልማት እንቅስቃሴ ዛሬም ቢሆን መድረስ የሚገባው ደረጃ ላይ አልደረሰም፡፡ ይህም በመሆኑ እንደገጠሩ በሚሊዮኖች የሚቆጠሩ ግንባር ቀደም የልማት አርበኞች ማፍራት ሳይቻል ቀርቷል.. የሚለው የ7ተኛ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ረቂቅ ሪፖርት በአባልነት የታቀፉት ግንባር ቀደሞች የዘርፉ ተዋናይ መሆን ያልቻሉና አቅም ያልፈጠሩ መሆናቸውን ይገልፃል፡፡
ኢሕአዴግ በገጠር ያሉት 3.7 ሚሊዮን አባላት ቁጥር ለጊዜው እንደሚበቁትና ዋነኛው ስራ የአባላቱን አቅም ማጠናከር መሆኑን ሲገልፅ በከተማ ግን በሠፊው አባላት መመልመልና የማስፋት ሥራ እንደሚሰራ በሪፖርቱ አስታውቋል፡፡
በከተሞች የመልካም አስተዳደርና የዴሞክራሲን መሠረት ለማስፋት የሚካሄደው የኪራይ ሠብሳቢነት መሠረትና ምንጭ የሆኑትን ችግሮች ማስወገድ ሲቻል መሆኑን የሚያትተው ሪፖርቱ የአነስተኛ ብድርና ቁጠባ ተቋማትን እንዲሁም የቴክኖሎጂ አቅርቦትና ድጋፍ ተቋማትን ለማጠናከር ትኩረት እንደሚሰጥ ያብራራል፡፡
በሪፖርቱ የግሉ ሚዲያ የሚገኝበት ሁኔታም የተዳሰሰ ሲሆን ..የግሉ ሚዲያ በዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት ውስጥ ገንቢ ሚና እንዲጫወት ለማድረግ በህትመትና በኤሌክትሮኒክ ዘርፍ የተጀመረው ሕገ መንግሥቱን መሠረት ያደረገ እንቅስቃሴ እንዲቀጥል ጥረት ተደርጓል.. በማለት የሚገልፀው ሪፖርቱ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የግል ኤሌክትሮኒክስ ሚዲያዎች በኤፍ.ኤም የስርጭት መስመሮች መከፈቱን ያመለክታል፡፡
..ከምርጫ 97 በፊትና በኋላ በግል የሕትመት ሚዲያው አካባቢ የታየውን በጐ ያልሆነ አዝማሚያ መልክ ለማስያዝ ባለፉት ሁለትና ሦስት ዓመታት የተለያዩ ጥረቶች ተደርገዋል፡፡ ሕገ መንግሥቱንና ሕግን አክብረው ባልተንቀሳቀሱ ሚዲያዎች ላይ አስፈላጊው ሕጋዊ እርምጃ ተወስዷል.. የሚለው ይህ ሪፖርት ከፊት ይታይ የነበረውን ..አፍራሽ አዝማሚያ.. በተወሰነ ደረጃ ማርገብ መቻሉን ያትታል፡፡ መንግሥትም ለግሉ ሚዲያ በተሻለ ደረጃ በእጁ ያሉትን መረጃ እንዲያገኝ ማድረጉን ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡ ..ይህም ሆኖ በሚዲያ አካባቢ የሚንፀባረቀው የኪራይ ሰብሳቢነት አስተሳሰብና ተግባር እንደገና በማገርሸት በከፋ መልኩ መገለፅ ጀምሯል፡፡ ይህን ችግር መገንዘብና ቀደም ሲል አፍራሽ አዝማሚያ የነበረው ኃይል በሚዲያው ላይ የበላይነት ይዞ የነበረበት ሁኔታ እንዳይመለስ ከፍተኛ ጥረት ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል.. በማለት መንግሥት ሚዲያው ለዴሞክራሲና ልማት መጠናከር በሚበጅ አኳኋን እንዲንቀሳቀስ ለማድረግ አስፈላጊውን ፖለቲካዊና ሕጋዊ እርምጃ አጠናክሮ መቀጠሉ ተገቢ መሆኑ ይገልፃል፡፡
በዚሁ የሪፖርቱ ክፍል መንግሥታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶች ጐላ ብሎ የሚታይ የሚና መደበላለቅ ችግር የሚታይባቸው በመሆኑ ይህንን ለማስተካከል ድርጅቶቹ ከባህሪያቸውና ከተልዕኳቸው በመነሳት የሚተዳደሩበት ራሱን የቻለ ሕግ እንዲወጣና በቀጣዩ ዓመትም ለሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት ቀርቦ እንደሚፀድቅና በተግባር ላይ እንደሚውል አስታውቋል፡፡
የሪፖርቱ የመጀመሪያ ክፍል ሲጠቃለልም ..የፖለቲካ ፅንፈኝነትና ጤናማና የተረጋጋ የመድብለ ፓርቲ ለመገንባት የሚጫወተውን አሉታዊ ሚና መገንዘብ በሚቀጥሉት ዓመታት ገንቢ የተቃዋሚነት ሚና መጫወት ከጀመሩ ፓርቲዎች ጋር ከሚናቸው ጋር የሚመጥን ግንኙነት ኢሕአዴግ እንደሚኖረው ይገልፃል፡፡ ገንቢ ሚና የሚጫወቱትን ፓርቲዎች ኢሕአዴግ እንደሚያበረታታና ሕገ ወጦችን ተከታትሎ ለሕግ ማቅረብ እንደሚያስፈልግም አመልክቷል፡፡ ..ከሁለቱ መካከል የሚወላውለትን ደግሞ ሚናቸውን እንዲለዩ ለማድረግ በመጣር የመድብለ ፓርቲ ፖለቲካ በይበልጥ ጤናማ አቅጣጫ ተከትሎ እንዲያድግ ለማድረግ ጥረት ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል.. ይላል፡፡
በሪፖርቱ ክፍል ሁለት የኢኮኖሚያዊና ማህበራዊ ልማት ተግባራት የተዳሰሱ ሲሆን በ1996 ዓ.ም. 10.37 ሚሊዮን ሜትሪክ ቶን የነበረው አጠቃላይ ምርት በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ወደ 16.45 ሚሊዮን ሜትሪክ ቶን ማደጉን ያመለክታል፡፡ በፊት በሄክታር ይመረት ከነበረው 11.9 ኩንታል ምርት በሄክታር ወደ 17 ኩንታል ከፍ ማለቱንም ያመለክታል፡፡ ኢሕእዴግ ለወጣቶችና ለሴቶች ትኩረት እንደሚሰጥ በተለያዩ የሪፖርቱ ክፍሎች ላይ የተመለከተ ሲሆን ..የገጠር ወጣቶች በገጠር መሬት ላይ ያላቸው ድርሻ ዝቅተኛ በመሆኑ ምክንያት ከልማቱ እኩል ተጠቃሚ ሆነዋል ማለት አይቻልም፡፡ ሴቶችም በሁሉም አካባቢዎች በዋነኛነት በቤት ሥራ በመጠመዳቸው፣ በወንድ ትምክህተኝነት አስተሳሰብ ተፅእኖ ሥር በመውደቃቸው በበርካታ አካባቢዎችም የመሬትና የንብረት ባለቤት ያለመሆን ችግር ስላለባቸው ከሂደቱ እኩል ተጠቃሚ ሳይሆኑ ቀርተዋል.. ይላል፡፡
በመሠረተ ልማት መስክ 15 ሺህ ቀበሌዎች የስልክ አገልግሎት ተጠቃሚ መሆናቸውን፣ ከአገሪቱ ቀበሌዎች ግማሽ ያህሉ የኤሌክትሪክ ተጠቃሚ መሆናቸውን፣ የንፁህ መጠጥ ውሃ ከ30 በመቶ ወደ 60 በመቶ ከፍ ማለቱን፣ እና ሌሎችም ሲዘረዝሩ አብዛኛው ስኬት ከኢሕአዴግ 6ኛ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ውሣኔዎች በኋላ የተገኙ ስኬቶች መሆናቸውን አመልክቷል፡፡
የትምህርትና ጤና ሽፋን በሪፖርቱ ሰፊ ዳሰሳ የተደረገባቸው ሲሆን በአገሪቱ በመጠናቀቅ ላይ ያሉትን 13 ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ጨምሮ የመንግሥት ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ቁጥር 21 መድረሱን ያመለክታል፡፡ ..በሚቀጥሉት ሁለት ዓመታት ቢያንስ 1ዐ ተጨማሪ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎችን የመገንባት ስራ ለመጀመር ጥናት እየተካሄደ ነው.. የሚለው ሪፖርት ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች የሚቀበሏቸው ተማሪዎች በፊት በተቀመጠው 7ዐ በመቶ በሳይንስና ቴክኖሎጂ (40 በመቶ የሚሆኑት የተለያዩ የምህንድስና ዘርፎች፣ 3ዐ በመቶ የሚሆኑት በተፈጥሮ ሳይንስ ዘርፎች) እንደሚሰለጥኑ ያመለክታል፡፡ የዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ካሪኩለም መሻሻል፣ የውጭ ባለሙያዎችንና ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ከአገር ውስጥ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ጋር ማቀራረብ ትኩረት እንደሚሰጠውም ተመልክቷል፡፡
ሪፖርቱ በውጭ ግንኙነት፣ በማይክሮ ፋይናንስ፣ በኢንቨስትመንት የተገኙ ለውጦችንም አቅርቧል፡፡ ስለ ወቅታዊው የኢትዮ-ሶማሊያ፣ ኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ጉዳዮችም ሪፖርቱ የገለፀ ሲሆን ስለቀጣይ የውጭ ግንኙነት ተግባራትም አመላክቷል፡፡
ኢሕእዴግ በዚህ የ7ተኛው ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ገቢውንና ወጪውን ሪፖርት የሚያደርግ ሲሆን በ1999 ዓ.ም. ብር 17.8 ሚሊዮን እንዲሁም በ2000 ዓ.ም. 11.4 ሚሊዮን ብር በድምሩ 29.2 ሚሊዮን ብር ማግኘቱን ሲገልፅ የ1999ኙ ገቢ 7ዐ በመቶ ያህሉ የተገኘው አባል ድርጅቶች ካደረጉት የገንዘብ አስተዋፅኦ ሲሆን ቀሪው በባንክ ተቀማጭ ከሆነ ገንዘብ የተገኘ ወለድና የመሳሰሉት ገቢዎች የተገኙ መሆኑ ተመልክቷል፡፡
ከነዚህ ገቢዎች በተጨማሪ በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ብሔራዊ ድርጅቶችና ኢሕአዴግ በጋራ ከየክልሉ ሕዝብ ድርጅቱን ለማጠናከሪያ የሚሆን የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ለማሰባሰብ ባካሄዱት ጥረት እስካሁን 75.6 ሚሊዮን ብር መሠብሰቡን ሲገልፅ በስምምነቱ መሠረት የገቢው 3ዐ በመቶ ለክልሎች እንደሚሰጥ በሪፖርቱ ተመልክቷል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ኢሕአዴግ በራሱ ከግል ባለሃብቶች የማሰልጠኛ ማዕከሉን ለመገንባት የሚያስችል ድጋፍ ለማሰባሰብ ባካሄደው እንቅስቃሴ በዓይነትና በብር 7ዐ ሚሊዮን ያህል ገቢ አግኝቷል፡፡ በአጠቃላይ ኢሕአዴግ በዚህ ዓመት ብቻ 167 ሚሊዮን ብር ማግኘቱን ከሪፖርቱ ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡
ፓርቲው የፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ስራዎቹን ለማከናወንም በ1999 ዓ.ም. 18.8 ሚሊዮን ብር ሲያወጣ በ2000 ዓ.ም. 18.7 ሚሊዮን ብር በድምሩ 37.5 ሚሊዮን ብር ወጪ ማድረጉን ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
ሪፖርቱ በማጠቃለያው ..የተሃድሶውን ዓላማ ለማሳካት የሚያስችል በከፍተኛ ደረጃ የተቀናጀ ድርጅታዊና መንግሥታዊ አመራርና ሠፊ የሕዝብ ንቅናቄ በመፍጠር የተሃድሷችንን ፍሬ ለአዳዲስ የተሃድሶ ድሎች እንጠቀምበት.. ይላል፡፡
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Traveling to Ethioiopa the British Perspective!
Sub Saharan Africa
Ethiopia
Still current at: 03 September 2008
Updated: 22 July 2008
This advice has been reviewed and reissued with an amendment to the Summary and Local Travel (North & East Ethiopia; Tigray & Afar) section (the relocation out of Eritrea of the UN Peacekeeping Mission). The overall level of the advice has not changed.
(see travel advice legal disclaimer)
Travel advice for this country
Travel Summary Safety and security Local laws and customs Entry requirements Health General See entire profile
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Travel Summary
The Ethiopia-Eritrea border remains closed. Several security incidents have taken place in recent months along the border, particularly in the Humera region. Since the relocation out of Eritrea of the UN Peacekeeping Mission (UNMEE) in March 2008, the risk of cross-border tensions increasing and the security situation deteriorating very rapidly has sharpened. With the exception of the main road through Axum and Adigrat, we advise against all travel within 50 kms of the border areas with Eritrea because of the risk of landmines and banditry. See the Local Travel (North and East Ethiopia) section of this travel advice for more details.
We also advise against all travel to areas off the principal roads/towns within 50 kms of the borders with Sudan and Kenya; to the Danakil desert area bounded by the Dessie-Adigrat road, the Dessie-Djibouti road and to the Gambella region outside of Gambella town itself. This is because armed groups hostile to the Government of Ethiopia operate in several of these border areas. See the Terrorism/Security and Local Travel sections of this advice for more details.
We advise against crossing the Ethiopia/Somalia or Somaliland border by road. We also advise against travel to the Fik, Degehabur, Gode, Korahe and Warder zones of the Somali region where rebels groups are active and the situation remains volatile. This is because of ongoing military activity and lawlessness in the region. We also advise against all but essential travel to Jijiga town. See the Terrorism/Security section and the Local Travel (North & East Ethiopia) section of this advice for more details.
Most visits to Ethiopia are trouble-free. There is a low level of crime but you should avoid any public demonstrations. We do not advise against travel to the main tourist destinations including Bahir Dar, Gonder, Lalibela, Axum and the rift valley lakes and the Omo Valley.
There is a high threat from terrorism in Ethiopia; attacks could be indiscriminate including places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. On 20 May 2008 a bomb exploded on a local minibus travelling from Arat Kilo to Meskel Square near the Ethiopian Mapping Agency in the Kirkos sub-city district of the capital Addis Ababa. Six people were reported killed and seven people injured. You should remain extremely vigilant at all times in public places checking this Travel Advice for updates at regular intervals.
Around 16,000 people visit Ethiopia from Britain each year (source: Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism). The main type of incident for which British nationals required consular assistance in Ethiopia in 2007 was for replacing lost or stolen passports. See the Crime section of this advice for more details.
We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake. See the General (Insurance) section of this advice and Travel Insurance for more details.
Safety and security
Terrorism/Security
There is a high threat from terrorism in Ethiopia, including in Addis Ababa. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers.
On 28 May 2008 Ethiopian police reported two explosions in hotels in Negelle Borena, in the Oromiya region, a town 595 kilometres (320 miles) south east of the capital Addis Ababa. Several people were reportedly killed with others injured. A Somali Islamic militant Group claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 20 May 2008, a bomb exploded on a local minibus travelling from Arat Kilo to Meskel Square near the Ethiopian Mapping Agency in the Kirkos sub-city district of the capital Addis Ababa. Six people were reported killed and seven people seriously injured.
On 14 April 2008 there were two explosions at the petrol stations near the Gergi Imperial and Lem hotels (eastern Addis Ababa). Four people were reported killed and 15 people injured. You should remain extremely vigilant at all times in public places checking this Travel Advice for updates at regular intervals.
There remains a risk of similar attacks on petrol stations. You should remain extremely vigilant at all times in public places, checking this Travel Advice at regular intervals.
Explosive devices, such as grenades, are readily obtainable throughout Ethiopia and are occasionally used during local disputes. There is a risk of British nationals and other foreigners becoming indiscriminately caught up in attacks.
Because of ongoing military activity and lawlessness in the region, we advise against all travel to the Fik, Degehabur, Gode, Korahe and Warder zones. We also advise against all but essential travel to Jijiga town and recommend against overnight stays unless in secure accommodation. Recent incidents include:
On 5 August 2007 there were two bomb explosions in the town of Jigga – one near the Protestant church the other in a market area - which reportedly killed one and injured around a dozen.
On 28 May 2007, there was an explosion in the Jijiga stadium. .At least five people were killed and 52 wounded in the blast
On 24 April 2007, a terrorist group attacked an oil exploration facility in Obele, resulting in civilians, including foreign workers being killed and kidnapped.
On 3 September 2006, at least one person was killed and seven wounded in Jijiga , following a grenade attack on a recreation centre.
Forty-two people were also injured in Jijiga (Somali region) on 27 May 2006, following three simultaneous bomb blasts.
In December 2003 a number of government officials were ambushed and killed while travelling in a UN-marked car in the Gambella region. Since this time there has been continuing unrest, sporadic violence, banditry and inter-tribal clashes in the West and South of the Gambella region. On 11 June 2006, there was an attack on a bus travelling from Addis Ababa to Gambella, which resulted in a number of deaths. Although the situation is improving, it remains unpredictable and we advise against all travel outside of Gambella town.
In the past, groups affiliated with terrorist organisations have also been active in other border states, including Tigray, Oromiya, and Afar. On 13 March 2008 eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured when a bomb exploded on a public bus travelling from Humera to Shire. On 1 March 2007, a group of western tourists and their tour guides were abducted by an armed group in the Danakil Depression. They were subsequently released. On 20 February 2008 the Ethiopian government reported that the police had foiled the attempted kidnap of a group of foreign tourists travelling in the region (see Local Travel below for further details).
You are reminded to remain vigilant with your personal security and to exercise caution.
For more general information see Terrorism Abroad.
Crime
Petty theft/mugging is common particularly in the Piazza or Mercato areas of Addis Ababa and is on the increase in other areas. You should exercise particular caution when visiting crowded public places and keep valuables, particularly cameras and passports out of sight. Be aware of bag and jewellery snatching, pick-pocketing and opportunistic snatching from vehicles stopped at traffic lights in Addis Ababa.
For more general information see Victims of Crime Abroad.
Political Situation
Ethiopia Country Profile
There were serious disturbances in Addis Ababa and other towns across Ethiopia following disputed elections in 2005. Since then the security situation has been generally calm although politically-motivated violence, whether in Addis Ababa or elsewhere in Ethiopia, could flare up again. Universities in Addis and elsewhere are often a source of tension and there were a number of violent incidents in April 2006.
You are advised to remain prudent and keep a low profile, avoid public demonstrations and remain vigilant in public places throughout the country.
Local Travel
Independent travellers should keep themselves abreast of local and international news. You should avoid driving after dark in rural areas: vehicles often have no lights and livestock may be roaming the roads. This also presents a risk to pedestrians, who should remain vigilant at all times.
North & East Ethiopia
The Danakil desert: We advise against all travel to the Danakil desert bounded by the Dessie-Adigrat road, the Dessie-Djibouti road and the Ethiopian-Eritrean border. On 1 March 2007, a group of western tourists and their tour guides were abducted by an armed group near lake Asele in the Danakil Depression region in North Eastern Ethiopia. Five of those abducted were released on 13 March. The others were released on 23 April 2007. On 20 February 2008 the Ethiopian government reported that the police had foiled the attempted kidnap of a group of foreign tourists travelling in the region.
Tigray and Afar: With the exception of the main roads through Axum and Adigrat, we advise against all travel within 50kms of the Eritrean border in the Tigray and Afar regions, which remain a predominantly military zone. On 13 March eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured when a bomb exploded on a public bus travelling from Humera to Shire. Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are high and the border remains closed. Since the relocation out of Eritrea of the UN Peacekeeping Mission (UNMEE) in March 2008, the risk of cross-border tensions increasing and the security situation deteriorating very rapidly has sharpened. You should exercise extreme caution if you intend to travel on the road from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, including travelling via Asaita, due to its historically high number of road traffic accidents.
Somali Region: We advise against crossing the Ethiopia/Somalia or Somaliland border by road. Since the mid-1990's, insurgent groups, some affiliated with terrorist organisations, have clashed with government forces in the Somali Region, particularly in the Ogaden. Since April 2007 there has been an increase in the violence. We advise against travel to the Fik, Degehabur, Gode, Korahe amd Warder zones of the region where rebels groups are active and the situation remains volatile. We also advise against all but essential travel to Jijiga town and recommend against overnight stays unless in secure accommodation. (See Terrorism/security section above). On 20 September 2006, ICRC confirmed that two aid workers were kidnapped near Gode who were subsequently released. It is not clear who was responsible for the abduction.
South & West Ethiopia
We advise against all travel to areas off the principal roads/towns within 50 kms of the areas bordering Sudan and Kenya. Along the border with Kenya cross-border banditry related to the drought in the region have increased. Armed groups hostile to the Government of Ethiopia operate in several areas near the border with Kenya.
If crossing into Kenya or Sudan, keep to the main road and seek advice from local authorities about travelling in convoy. If travelling overland to Kenya via Moyale, we recommend that you also consult the FCO Travel Advice for Kenya.
Gambella: For the time being we continue to advise against all travel outside of Gambella town due to the risk of banditry and inter-tribal clashes in the West and South of Gambella region. The situation is improving but remains unpredictable. (see Terrorism/Security section above).
Beneshangul-Gumuz: During May and June 2008 there has been an increase in inter-tribal clashes in the region, including along the main road from Nekemte, Oromiya Region. On 16 April 2008 a commercial bus was set alight on the road from Shokole
Air Travel
Since 1 November 2005, all airport departure taxes for international flights departing Ethiopia and for internal flights within Ethiopia are included in the price of airline tickets.
Local laws and customs
The Ethiopian Highlands are predominantly Orthodox Christian with ‘fasting’ each Wednesday, Friday and during Lent when only vegetarian dishes are available (except in larger hotels). The Julian calendar is used and the current year is 2000. Christmas is celebrated on 7 January and New Year on 11 September. Some Ethiopians set their clocks from dawn to dusk and there is a six-hour difference between Ethiopian time and Western time i.e. 6 o’clock can mean 12 o’clock. So take care when making appointments.
There is a large Muslim population and generally Ethiopians dress in a conservative manner. You should respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times and be aware of your actions to ensure that they do not offend other cultures or religious beliefs, especially during the holy month of Ramadan or if you intend to visit religious areas. For more general information see Travelling During Ramadan.
Ethiopian antiques need an export certificate to be taken out of the country. Major tourist outlets in Addis Ababa can offer assistance in obtaining one.
Male homosexual behaviour is illegal and carries a penalty of up to five years imprisonment. Although there is no provision under Ethiopian law for lesbianism there is the presumption that the punishment would be the same.
Drug offences are treated seriously in Ethiopia. You should not become involved with drugs of any kind.
For more general information for different types of travellers see Travel Advice Relevant to You.
Entry requirements
Visas
British nationals require a visa to enter Ethiopia. If you are flying into Ethiopia for as a tourist you may obtain your visa on arrival at Addis Ababa (Bole) and Dire Dawa International airports. If you are arriving by other means, or at another airport, you must obtain a visa prior to arrival, even when travelling from countries without an Ethiopian Embassy or Mission. Penalties for overstaying your visa can be severe.
Passport validity
There is no minimum passport validity requirements for Ethiopia.
Yellow Fever Certificate
Yellow Fever vaccination certificates may be required for visitors from countries where it is endemic.
Travelling with children
Single parents or other adults travelling alone with children should be aware that some countries require documentary evidence of parental responsibility before allowing lone parents to enter the country, or in some cases, before permitting the children to leave the country.
Health
There are a number of hospitals in Addis Ababa but only private hospitals offer a reasonable standard of basic care for minor health problems. Elsewhere medical facilities (including dentistry) are extremely poor. The British Embassy has its own clinic, which tourists may consult in an emergency only. If you intend to take up residence in Ethiopia for a period of more than one year you may officially register your family with the Clinic.
Waterborne diseases and malaria are common to Ethiopia, the latter in areas of the country below 2000 metres.
Bilharzia is present in the majority of lakes in Ethiopia. Since August 2006 there have been approximately 60,000 reported cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea resulting in about 600 deaths. You should drink or use only boiled or bottled water and avoid ice in drinks. If you suffer from diarrhoea during a visit to Ethiopia you should seek immediate medical attention.
Addis Ababa sits at 2,400 metres above sea level. Adjusting to the altitude may take several weeks. If you have a heart condition you should take advice.
In the 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic the UNAIDS/WHO Working Group estimated that between 380,000 and 1,200,000 adults aged 15 or over in Ethiopia were living with HIV; the prevalence rate was estimated as between 0.9% and 3.5% of the adult population. This compares to the prevalence rate in adults in the UK of around 0.2%. You should exercise normal precautions to avoid exposure to HIV/AIDS. For more general information on how to do this see HIV and AIDS.
You should seek medical advice before travelling to Ethiopia and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up to date. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should check the websites of the National Travel Health Network and Centre NaTHNaC and NHS Scotland's Fit For Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.
For more general information see Travel Health.
General
Insurance
You should ensure that you obtain adequate medical insurance before arrival. You should also carry a comprehensive medical pack when travelling out of Addis Ababa. Medical insurance should cover the cost of air ambulance evacuation out of Ethiopia in the event of serious accident or illness. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. For more general information see Travel Insurance.
If things do go wrong when you are overseas then this is How We Can Help.
Registration
If you are visiting Ethiopia either on a long or short-term basis you should register with the British Embassy in Addis Ababa on arrival. Full details are on the Embassy website, see below. Please ensure that you keep your entry up to date.
Register with our LOCATE service to tell us when and where you are travelling abroad or where you live abroad so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you in an emergency. More information about registering with LOCATE can be found here.
Money
Credit cards are accepted at only a very few outlets in Addis Ababa. It is not normally possible to obtain currency advances against a credit card in Ethiopia. You should ensure you have an adequate supply of hard currency or travellers-cheques.
Travel advice for this country
Ethiopia
Still current at: 03 September 2008
Updated: 22 July 2008
This advice has been reviewed and reissued with an amendment to the Summary and Local Travel (North & East Ethiopia; Tigray & Afar) section (the relocation out of Eritrea of the UN Peacekeeping Mission). The overall level of the advice has not changed.
(see travel advice legal disclaimer)
Travel advice for this country
Travel Summary Safety and security Local laws and customs Entry requirements Health General See entire profile
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Travel Summary
The Ethiopia-Eritrea border remains closed. Several security incidents have taken place in recent months along the border, particularly in the Humera region. Since the relocation out of Eritrea of the UN Peacekeeping Mission (UNMEE) in March 2008, the risk of cross-border tensions increasing and the security situation deteriorating very rapidly has sharpened. With the exception of the main road through Axum and Adigrat, we advise against all travel within 50 kms of the border areas with Eritrea because of the risk of landmines and banditry. See the Local Travel (North and East Ethiopia) section of this travel advice for more details.
We also advise against all travel to areas off the principal roads/towns within 50 kms of the borders with Sudan and Kenya; to the Danakil desert area bounded by the Dessie-Adigrat road, the Dessie-Djibouti road and to the Gambella region outside of Gambella town itself. This is because armed groups hostile to the Government of Ethiopia operate in several of these border areas. See the Terrorism/Security and Local Travel sections of this advice for more details.
We advise against crossing the Ethiopia/Somalia or Somaliland border by road. We also advise against travel to the Fik, Degehabur, Gode, Korahe and Warder zones of the Somali region where rebels groups are active and the situation remains volatile. This is because of ongoing military activity and lawlessness in the region. We also advise against all but essential travel to Jijiga town. See the Terrorism/Security section and the Local Travel (North & East Ethiopia) section of this advice for more details.
Most visits to Ethiopia are trouble-free. There is a low level of crime but you should avoid any public demonstrations. We do not advise against travel to the main tourist destinations including Bahir Dar, Gonder, Lalibela, Axum and the rift valley lakes and the Omo Valley.
There is a high threat from terrorism in Ethiopia; attacks could be indiscriminate including places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers. On 20 May 2008 a bomb exploded on a local minibus travelling from Arat Kilo to Meskel Square near the Ethiopian Mapping Agency in the Kirkos sub-city district of the capital Addis Ababa. Six people were reported killed and seven people injured. You should remain extremely vigilant at all times in public places checking this Travel Advice for updates at regular intervals.
Around 16,000 people visit Ethiopia from Britain each year (source: Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism). The main type of incident for which British nationals required consular assistance in Ethiopia in 2007 was for replacing lost or stolen passports. See the Crime section of this advice for more details.
We strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake. See the General (Insurance) section of this advice and Travel Insurance for more details.
Safety and security
Terrorism/Security
There is a high threat from terrorism in Ethiopia, including in Addis Ababa. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers.
On 28 May 2008 Ethiopian police reported two explosions in hotels in Negelle Borena, in the Oromiya region, a town 595 kilometres (320 miles) south east of the capital Addis Ababa. Several people were reportedly killed with others injured. A Somali Islamic militant Group claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 20 May 2008, a bomb exploded on a local minibus travelling from Arat Kilo to Meskel Square near the Ethiopian Mapping Agency in the Kirkos sub-city district of the capital Addis Ababa. Six people were reported killed and seven people seriously injured.
On 14 April 2008 there were two explosions at the petrol stations near the Gergi Imperial and Lem hotels (eastern Addis Ababa). Four people were reported killed and 15 people injured. You should remain extremely vigilant at all times in public places checking this Travel Advice for updates at regular intervals.
There remains a risk of similar attacks on petrol stations. You should remain extremely vigilant at all times in public places, checking this Travel Advice at regular intervals.
Explosive devices, such as grenades, are readily obtainable throughout Ethiopia and are occasionally used during local disputes. There is a risk of British nationals and other foreigners becoming indiscriminately caught up in attacks.
Because of ongoing military activity and lawlessness in the region, we advise against all travel to the Fik, Degehabur, Gode, Korahe and Warder zones. We also advise against all but essential travel to Jijiga town and recommend against overnight stays unless in secure accommodation. Recent incidents include:
On 5 August 2007 there were two bomb explosions in the town of Jigga – one near the Protestant church the other in a market area - which reportedly killed one and injured around a dozen.
On 28 May 2007, there was an explosion in the Jijiga stadium. .At least five people were killed and 52 wounded in the blast
On 24 April 2007, a terrorist group attacked an oil exploration facility in Obele, resulting in civilians, including foreign workers being killed and kidnapped.
On 3 September 2006, at least one person was killed and seven wounded in Jijiga , following a grenade attack on a recreation centre.
Forty-two people were also injured in Jijiga (Somali region) on 27 May 2006, following three simultaneous bomb blasts.
In December 2003 a number of government officials were ambushed and killed while travelling in a UN-marked car in the Gambella region. Since this time there has been continuing unrest, sporadic violence, banditry and inter-tribal clashes in the West and South of the Gambella region. On 11 June 2006, there was an attack on a bus travelling from Addis Ababa to Gambella, which resulted in a number of deaths. Although the situation is improving, it remains unpredictable and we advise against all travel outside of Gambella town.
In the past, groups affiliated with terrorist organisations have also been active in other border states, including Tigray, Oromiya, and Afar. On 13 March 2008 eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured when a bomb exploded on a public bus travelling from Humera to Shire. On 1 March 2007, a group of western tourists and their tour guides were abducted by an armed group in the Danakil Depression. They were subsequently released. On 20 February 2008 the Ethiopian government reported that the police had foiled the attempted kidnap of a group of foreign tourists travelling in the region (see Local Travel below for further details).
You are reminded to remain vigilant with your personal security and to exercise caution.
For more general information see Terrorism Abroad.
Crime
Petty theft/mugging is common particularly in the Piazza or Mercato areas of Addis Ababa and is on the increase in other areas. You should exercise particular caution when visiting crowded public places and keep valuables, particularly cameras and passports out of sight. Be aware of bag and jewellery snatching, pick-pocketing and opportunistic snatching from vehicles stopped at traffic lights in Addis Ababa.
For more general information see Victims of Crime Abroad.
Political Situation
Ethiopia Country Profile
There were serious disturbances in Addis Ababa and other towns across Ethiopia following disputed elections in 2005. Since then the security situation has been generally calm although politically-motivated violence, whether in Addis Ababa or elsewhere in Ethiopia, could flare up again. Universities in Addis and elsewhere are often a source of tension and there were a number of violent incidents in April 2006.
You are advised to remain prudent and keep a low profile, avoid public demonstrations and remain vigilant in public places throughout the country.
Local Travel
Independent travellers should keep themselves abreast of local and international news. You should avoid driving after dark in rural areas: vehicles often have no lights and livestock may be roaming the roads. This also presents a risk to pedestrians, who should remain vigilant at all times.
North & East Ethiopia
The Danakil desert: We advise against all travel to the Danakil desert bounded by the Dessie-Adigrat road, the Dessie-Djibouti road and the Ethiopian-Eritrean border. On 1 March 2007, a group of western tourists and their tour guides were abducted by an armed group near lake Asele in the Danakil Depression region in North Eastern Ethiopia. Five of those abducted were released on 13 March. The others were released on 23 April 2007. On 20 February 2008 the Ethiopian government reported that the police had foiled the attempted kidnap of a group of foreign tourists travelling in the region.
Tigray and Afar: With the exception of the main roads through Axum and Adigrat, we advise against all travel within 50kms of the Eritrean border in the Tigray and Afar regions, which remain a predominantly military zone. On 13 March eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured when a bomb exploded on a public bus travelling from Humera to Shire. Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are high and the border remains closed. Since the relocation out of Eritrea of the UN Peacekeeping Mission (UNMEE) in March 2008, the risk of cross-border tensions increasing and the security situation deteriorating very rapidly has sharpened. You should exercise extreme caution if you intend to travel on the road from Addis Ababa to Djibouti, including travelling via Asaita, due to its historically high number of road traffic accidents.
Somali Region: We advise against crossing the Ethiopia/Somalia or Somaliland border by road. Since the mid-1990's, insurgent groups, some affiliated with terrorist organisations, have clashed with government forces in the Somali Region, particularly in the Ogaden. Since April 2007 there has been an increase in the violence. We advise against travel to the Fik, Degehabur, Gode, Korahe amd Warder zones of the region where rebels groups are active and the situation remains volatile. We also advise against all but essential travel to Jijiga town and recommend against overnight stays unless in secure accommodation. (See Terrorism/security section above). On 20 September 2006, ICRC confirmed that two aid workers were kidnapped near Gode who were subsequently released. It is not clear who was responsible for the abduction.
South & West Ethiopia
We advise against all travel to areas off the principal roads/towns within 50 kms of the areas bordering Sudan and Kenya. Along the border with Kenya cross-border banditry related to the drought in the region have increased. Armed groups hostile to the Government of Ethiopia operate in several areas near the border with Kenya.
If crossing into Kenya or Sudan, keep to the main road and seek advice from local authorities about travelling in convoy. If travelling overland to Kenya via Moyale, we recommend that you also consult the FCO Travel Advice for Kenya.
Gambella: For the time being we continue to advise against all travel outside of Gambella town due to the risk of banditry and inter-tribal clashes in the West and South of Gambella region. The situation is improving but remains unpredictable. (see Terrorism/Security section above).
Beneshangul-Gumuz: During May and June 2008 there has been an increase in inter-tribal clashes in the region, including along the main road from Nekemte, Oromiya Region. On 16 April 2008 a commercial bus was set alight on the road from Shokole
Air Travel
Since 1 November 2005, all airport departure taxes for international flights departing Ethiopia and for internal flights within Ethiopia are included in the price of airline tickets.
Local laws and customs
The Ethiopian Highlands are predominantly Orthodox Christian with ‘fasting’ each Wednesday, Friday and during Lent when only vegetarian dishes are available (except in larger hotels). The Julian calendar is used and the current year is 2000. Christmas is celebrated on 7 January and New Year on 11 September. Some Ethiopians set their clocks from dawn to dusk and there is a six-hour difference between Ethiopian time and Western time i.e. 6 o’clock can mean 12 o’clock. So take care when making appointments.
There is a large Muslim population and generally Ethiopians dress in a conservative manner. You should respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times and be aware of your actions to ensure that they do not offend other cultures or religious beliefs, especially during the holy month of Ramadan or if you intend to visit religious areas. For more general information see Travelling During Ramadan.
Ethiopian antiques need an export certificate to be taken out of the country. Major tourist outlets in Addis Ababa can offer assistance in obtaining one.
Male homosexual behaviour is illegal and carries a penalty of up to five years imprisonment. Although there is no provision under Ethiopian law for lesbianism there is the presumption that the punishment would be the same.
Drug offences are treated seriously in Ethiopia. You should not become involved with drugs of any kind.
For more general information for different types of travellers see Travel Advice Relevant to You.
Entry requirements
Visas
British nationals require a visa to enter Ethiopia. If you are flying into Ethiopia for as a tourist you may obtain your visa on arrival at Addis Ababa (Bole) and Dire Dawa International airports. If you are arriving by other means, or at another airport, you must obtain a visa prior to arrival, even when travelling from countries without an Ethiopian Embassy or Mission. Penalties for overstaying your visa can be severe.
Passport validity
There is no minimum passport validity requirements for Ethiopia.
Yellow Fever Certificate
Yellow Fever vaccination certificates may be required for visitors from countries where it is endemic.
Travelling with children
Single parents or other adults travelling alone with children should be aware that some countries require documentary evidence of parental responsibility before allowing lone parents to enter the country, or in some cases, before permitting the children to leave the country.
Health
There are a number of hospitals in Addis Ababa but only private hospitals offer a reasonable standard of basic care for minor health problems. Elsewhere medical facilities (including dentistry) are extremely poor. The British Embassy has its own clinic, which tourists may consult in an emergency only. If you intend to take up residence in Ethiopia for a period of more than one year you may officially register your family with the Clinic.
Waterborne diseases and malaria are common to Ethiopia, the latter in areas of the country below 2000 metres.
Bilharzia is present in the majority of lakes in Ethiopia. Since August 2006 there have been approximately 60,000 reported cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea resulting in about 600 deaths. You should drink or use only boiled or bottled water and avoid ice in drinks. If you suffer from diarrhoea during a visit to Ethiopia you should seek immediate medical attention.
Addis Ababa sits at 2,400 metres above sea level. Adjusting to the altitude may take several weeks. If you have a heart condition you should take advice.
In the 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic the UNAIDS/WHO Working Group estimated that between 380,000 and 1,200,000 adults aged 15 or over in Ethiopia were living with HIV; the prevalence rate was estimated as between 0.9% and 3.5% of the adult population. This compares to the prevalence rate in adults in the UK of around 0.2%. You should exercise normal precautions to avoid exposure to HIV/AIDS. For more general information on how to do this see HIV and AIDS.
You should seek medical advice before travelling to Ethiopia and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up to date. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should check the websites of the National Travel Health Network and Centre NaTHNaC and NHS Scotland's Fit For Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.
For more general information see Travel Health.
General
Insurance
You should ensure that you obtain adequate medical insurance before arrival. You should also carry a comprehensive medical pack when travelling out of Addis Ababa. Medical insurance should cover the cost of air ambulance evacuation out of Ethiopia in the event of serious accident or illness. You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for the activities you want to undertake. For more general information see Travel Insurance.
If things do go wrong when you are overseas then this is How We Can Help.
Registration
If you are visiting Ethiopia either on a long or short-term basis you should register with the British Embassy in Addis Ababa on arrival. Full details are on the Embassy website, see below. Please ensure that you keep your entry up to date.
Register with our LOCATE service to tell us when and where you are travelling abroad or where you live abroad so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you in an emergency. More information about registering with LOCATE can be found here.
Money
Credit cards are accepted at only a very few outlets in Addis Ababa. It is not normally possible to obtain currency advances against a credit card in Ethiopia. You should ensure you have an adequate supply of hard currency or travellers-cheques.
Travel advice for this country
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
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Member Area Wednesday Sep 03rdHome Sections የኢሕአዴግ ሃሳብና - ጉባዔው
የኢሕአዴግ ሃሳብና - ጉባዔው
Sunday, 31 August 2008
በጌታቸው ንጋቱ
ገዢው ፓርቲ ኢሕአዴግ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔውን በመስከረም 2ዐዐ1 መጀመሪያ ላይ ያካሂዳል፡፡ ፓርቲው፣ በጉባዔው ላይ የሚያቀርበውን ረቂቅ የፓርቲው አመራሮች ካዩት በኋላ ማሻሻያዎች ካሉ ታክለውበት ለጉባዔው ይቀርባል፡፡
7ተኛው የኢሕአዴግ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ..ስኬታማ ተግባሮቻችንን በማስፋፋት የኢትዮጵያን ሕዳሴ በፅኑ መሠረት ላይ እንገነባለን.. በሚል መሪ ቃል የሚካሄድ ሲሆን በተለያዩ መስኮች ፓርቲው ያካሄዳቸው እንቅስቃሴዎችም በተዘጋጀው ሪፖርት ውስጥ ተካተዋል፡፡ 7ተኛው ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔም የሚወያይበት ዋነኛ አጀንዳ በኢሕአዴግ ምክር ቤት የቀረበው ይኸው ሪፖርት ነው፡፡ ሪፖርቱ በፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ጉዳዮች በዴሞክራሲና በመልካም አስተዳደር፣ በኢኮኖሚና ማህበራዊ ልማት እንዲሁም በውጭ ግንኙነትና አገራዊ ደህንነት ዙሪያ የተጠናቀረ ነው፡፡
..ተሃድሷችን ፍሬ ማፍራት ጀምሯል.. ሲል የሚጀምረው ሪፖርት ድርጅቱ የቆመለትን አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ኘሮግራም በተግባር ላይ ለማዋል ላለፉት 17 ዓመታት በስልጣን ላይ ሆኖ ሲታገል መቆየቱን ይገልፃል፡፡ ከነዚህ ውስጥም በመጀመሪያዎቹ 11 ዓመታት በርካታ ጥያቄዎችን በጥራት አለመመለሳቸውንና ብዙ መሥራት እየተቻለ በግልፅነት እጦት ወደ መቆም ከማምራቱም በላይ በተለይ በኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ጦርነት ወቅት ወደ ማሽቆልቆል አምርቶ እንደነበር ይገልፃል፡፡
በዚሁ የሪፖርቱ መግቢያ ላይ ኢሕአዴግ አገሪቱን በፈጣን እድገትና በተሟላ የዴሞክራሲ አቅጣጫ ማራመድ መጀመሩን ሲገልፅ ..የተያያዝነው የለውጥ ጉዞ በየደረጃው የሚያጋጥሙትን ችግሮችና ፈተናዎች በብስለት እየፈታን በጀመረበት ፍጥነት እንዲቀጥል ለማድረግ ከቻልን መካከለኛ ገቢ ያላቸውን አገሮች ጐራ ካሰብነው ወቅት ጥቂት ቀደም ብለን ልንቀላቀል እንደምንችል በእርግጠኝነት መናገር የምንችልበት ሁኔታ እየተፈጠረ ነው.. ይላል፡፡
ከተሃድሶው በኋላ ሚሊዮኖች የኢሕአዴግን ሰልፍ ተቀላቅለው አባላት መሆናቸውን የሚያመለክተው ሪፖርቱ፣ ..በዚህ መሠረት በአሁኑ ጊዜ ድርጅታችን በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ 4.5 ሚሊዮን ያህል አባላት ያሉት ድርጅት ሆኗል.. ይላል፡፡ ድርጅቱም በከተሞች ያሉትን ሳይጨምር በገጠር ብቻ ከ3.7 ሚሊዮን በላይ የሆኑ ግንባር ቀደም አርሶ አደሮችና የገጠር ሙያተኛ አባላት ለማቀፍ መቻሉንም ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡ ድርጅቱ በገጠር ቀበሌዎች ያለው ህልውናም በነዚሁ ..ግንባር ቀደም አርሶ አደሮች.. ላይ የተመሠረተ መሆኑን ያመለክታል፡፡
አባላቱን በዚህ የትግል ሂደት የሚመራ ራሱን እያበቃ ከፍተኛ አመራርን ጨምሮ በልዩ ልዩ የሥራ መስኮች የሚሠማራ የብቁ የሠው ኃይል ፍላጐት ምንጭ ሆኖ የሚያገለግል የመካከለኛ አመራር ለመፍጠር ከፍተኛ ጥረት መደረጉን ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡ ተከታታይ ስልጠናዎች በመስጠት በ1999 ዓ.ም. ከህዳር እስከ የካቲት በሁለት ዙር 15..354 የከፍተኛና መካከለኛ አመራር፣ በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ክረምት ለ16..ዐዐዐ የመካከለኛ አመራር አባላት ስልጠና መሠጠቱንና እየተሰጠም መሆኑን ያመለክታል፡፡
የቀበሌ አመራሮችንም አቅም ለመገንባት ሁለት ተከታታይ ስልጠናዎች የተሰጡ ሲሆን በድምሩ 46ዐ..ዐዐዐ ያህል የቀበሌ አመራር አባላት መሠልጠናቸው ተገልጿል፡፡ በአሁኑ ጊዜም የትምህርት ደረጃ የሚያሟሉና በተግባር እየተፈተኑ ብቃታቸውን በማረጋገጥ ላይ የሚገኙ በየወረዳው ከ25-30 የሚደርሱ በድምሩ 15 ሺ ያህል የመካከለኛ አመራር ካድሬዎች መመደብ መቻሉንም ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
ኢህአዴግ ሁሉም አባላቱ በመሠረታዊ ድርጅቶችና ከዚያም አልፎ በጥናት ህዋሳት እንዲዋቀሩ መደረጉን ሲገልፅ 4.5 ሚሊዮን አባላቱ በ18..263 ያህል መሠረታዊ ድርጅቶችና በ238..380 ያህል የጥናት ህዋሳት ተደራጅተው የሚንቀሳቀሱበት የጥንካሬ ደረጃ ላይ እንደደረሰ ሪፖርቱ ያስቀምጣል፡፡
በገጠር አካባቢዎች ሴቶችና ወጣቶችን በተመለከተ በርካታ ሥራዎች መሠራታቸውን ሪፖርቱ ሲገልፅ የወጣቶችንና ሴቶችን ተጠቃሚነትና ተሳትፎ የሚያረጋግጡ ፓኬጆች መዘጋጀታቸውን፣ ፓኬጆቹ ከተዘጋጁ በኋላ በተወሰነ ደረጃ ወደ ተግባር መሸጋገር የተቻለ መሆኑንና አሁን ደግሞ ወጣት እና ሴት አባላቶች በአብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲ አመራር ስር የወጣቶችንና የሴቶችን ትግል ለመምራት አስበው በቀረጿቸው የየራሳቸው ኘሮግራሞች የኢህአዴግን ትግል ወደ ከፍተኛ ትግል እንደሚያሸጋግሩ ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
በገጠር አካባቢዎች የሰራቸውን ሥራዎች ፓርቲው ሲዘረዝር ..በገጠር ለኪራይ ሰብሳቢነት አመቺ የነበረው የፖለቲካ ኢኮኖሚ እየተናደ ለልማታዊነትና ዴሞክራሲያዊነት እንዲሁም በእነዚህ ላይ ለተመሠረተ መልካም አስተዳደር የተመቸ ሁኔታ እየተፈጠረ ይገኛል.. ይላል፡፡ አርሶ አደሩ በተቻለው አቅም የፖለቲካ ተሳትፎ ቢያደርግም በቂ ትምህርትና ልምድ ስለሌለው ሥልጠና እንደሚያስፈልገው ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡ በገጠር መልካም አስተዳደርን ለማስፈን እጅግ ተፈላጊ የሆነው የሕዝብን የተደራጀ ተሳትፎ የማረጋገጥ ጉዳይ ይበልጥ እየቀለለና እየተሳካ የሚሄድበት ሁኔታ መፈጠሩንም ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡
በገጠር ያለውን የኢሕአዴግ እንቅስቃሴ በሠፊው የቃኘው ይኸው ሪፖርት በሚቀጥሉት ሁለት ዓመታት በገጠር ዴሞክራሲና መልካም አስተዳደርን ለማጐልበት የሚከተላቸውን አቅጣጫዎች አስቀምጧል፡፡ በቅድሚያ ከዚህ ቀደም የተዘጋጁትን የመልካም አስተዳደር ፓኬጅና የሲቪል ሠርቪስ ማሻሻያ ኘሮግራሞችን ያዋሃደ አንድ ወጥ ኘሮግራም እንደሚቀረፅ፣ በገጠር የሕዝብ ተሳትፎን ለማረጋገጥ የተቋቋሙ የሕዝብ አደረጃጀቶችን ማስፋትና ማጠናከር እንደሚሠራና በገጠር የትምህርትና የባህል ደረጃ ዝቅተኛነት ትምህርት በማስፋፋትና የሕዝቡን የባህል ደረጃ ከፍ የማድረግ ስልቶች እንደሚጠቀም ያመላክታል፡፡
ኢሕአዴግ በከተማ ያለውን የፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ተግባራት አፈፃፀም እና የሚገኝበትን ሁኔታና ቀጣይ ተግባራት አስመልክቶም በአሁኑ ሠዓት በድምሩ ከ7 መቶ ሺህ በላይ የሚቆጠሩ አባላት በከተሞች እንዳሉት ሲገልፅ አባላቱም በሴቶች፣ በወጣቶችና በሌሎችም ማህበራት ውስጥ በመግባት ህብረተሰቡን ለልማትና ለዴሞክራሲ ማታገል መጀመራቸውን ያስረዳል፡፡ ..እጅግ የሚበዛው የከተማ ሕዝብ ኑሮው ከአነስተኛና ጥቃቅን ተቋሞች ላይ ግንባር ቀደም ሚና የሚጫወቱ ግለሰቦችን በአባልነት ለመመልመልና ለማሰልጠን ጥረት ተደርጓል.. የሚለው ሪፖርቱ ለከተሞች በተቀየሱ የትግል አጀንዳዎች ዙሪያ የአባላትን ብቃት ከፍ ማድረግ እንደሚያስፈልግ ይገልፃል፡፡
..የከተማው የልማት እንቅስቃሴ ዛሬም ቢሆን መድረስ የሚገባው ደረጃ ላይ አልደረሰም፡፡ ይህም በመሆኑ እንደገጠሩ በሚሊዮኖች የሚቆጠሩ ግንባር ቀደም የልማት አርበኞች ማፍራት ሳይቻል ቀርቷል.. የሚለው የ7ተኛ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ረቂቅ ሪፖርት በአባልነት የታቀፉት ግንባር ቀደሞች የዘርፉ ተዋናይ መሆን ያልቻሉና አቅም ያልፈጠሩ መሆናቸውን ይገልፃል፡፡
ኢሕአዴግ በገጠር ያሉት 3.7 ሚሊዮን አባላት ቁጥር ለጊዜው እንደሚበቁትና ዋነኛው ስራ የአባላቱን አቅም ማጠናከር መሆኑን ሲገልፅ በከተማ ግን በሠፊው አባላት መመልመልና የማስፋት ሥራ እንደሚሰራ በሪፖርቱ አስታውቋል፡፡
በከተሞች የመልካም አስተዳደርና የዴሞክራሲን መሠረት ለማስፋት የሚካሄደው የኪራይ ሠብሳቢነት መሠረትና ምንጭ የሆኑትን ችግሮች ማስወገድ ሲቻል መሆኑን የሚያትተው ሪፖርቱ የአነስተኛ ብድርና ቁጠባ ተቋማትን እንዲሁም የቴክኖሎጂ አቅርቦትና ድጋፍ ተቋማትን ለማጠናከር ትኩረት እንደሚሰጥ ያብራራል፡፡
በሪፖርቱ የግሉ ሚዲያ የሚገኝበት ሁኔታም የተዳሰሰ ሲሆን ..የግሉ ሚዲያ በዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት ውስጥ ገንቢ ሚና እንዲጫወት ለማድረግ በህትመትና በኤሌክትሮኒክ ዘርፍ የተጀመረው ሕገ መንግሥቱን መሠረት ያደረገ እንቅስቃሴ እንዲቀጥል ጥረት ተደርጓል.. በማለት የሚገልፀው ሪፖርቱ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የግል ኤሌክትሮኒክስ ሚዲያዎች በኤፍ.ኤም የስርጭት መስመሮች መከፈቱን ያመለክታል፡፡
..ከምርጫ 97 በፊትና በኋላ በግል የሕትመት ሚዲያው አካባቢ የታየውን በጐ ያልሆነ አዝማሚያ መልክ ለማስያዝ ባለፉት ሁለትና ሦስት ዓመታት የተለያዩ ጥረቶች ተደርገዋል፡፡ ሕገ መንግሥቱንና ሕግን አክብረው ባልተንቀሳቀሱ ሚዲያዎች ላይ አስፈላጊው ሕጋዊ እርምጃ ተወስዷል.. የሚለው ይህ ሪፖርት ከፊት ይታይ የነበረውን ..አፍራሽ አዝማሚያ.. በተወሰነ ደረጃ ማርገብ መቻሉን ያትታል፡፡ መንግሥትም ለግሉ ሚዲያ በተሻለ ደረጃ በእጁ ያሉትን መረጃ እንዲያገኝ ማድረጉን ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
..ይህም ሆኖ በሚዲያ አካባቢ የሚንፀባረቀው የኪራይ ሰብሳቢነት አስተሳሰብና ተግባር እንደገና በማገርሸት በከፋ መልኩ መገለፅ ጀምሯል፡፡ ይህን ችግር መገንዘብና ቀደም ሲል አፍራሽ አዝማሚያ የነበረው ኃይል በሚዲያው ላይ የበላይነት ይዞ የነበረበት ሁኔታ እንዳይመለስ ከፍተኛ ጥረት ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል.. በማለት መንግሥት ሚዲያው ለዴሞክራሲና ልማት መጠናከር በሚበጅ አኳኋን እንዲንቀሳቀስ ለማድረግ አስፈላጊውን ፖለቲካዊና ሕጋዊ እርምጃ አጠናክሮ መቀጠሉ ተገቢ መሆኑ ይገልፃል፡፡
በዚሁ የሪፖርቱ ክፍል መንግሥታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶች ጐላ ብሎ የሚታይ የሚና መደበላለቅ ችግር የሚታይባቸው በመሆኑ ይህንን ለማስተካከል ድርጅቶቹ ከባህሪያቸውና ከተልዕኳቸው በመነሳት የሚተዳደሩበት ራሱን የቻለ ሕግ እንዲወጣና በቀጣዩ ዓመትም ለሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት ቀርቦ እንደሚፀድቅና በተግባር ላይ እንደሚውል አስታውቋል፡፡
የሪፖርቱ የመጀመሪያ ክፍል ሲጠቃለልም ..የፖለቲካ ፅንፈኝነትና ጤናማና የተረጋጋ የመድብለ ፓርቲ ለመገንባት የሚጫወተውን አሉታዊ ሚና መገንዘብ በሚቀጥሉት ዓመታት ገንቢ የተቃዋሚነት ሚና መጫወት ከጀመሩ ፓርቲዎች ጋር ከሚናቸው ጋር የሚመጥን ግንኙነት ኢሕአዴግ እንደሚኖረው ይገልፃል፡፡ ገንቢ ሚና የሚጫወቱትን ፓርቲዎች ኢሕአዴግ እንደሚያበረታታና ሕገ ወጦችን ተከታትሎ ለሕግ ማቅረብ እንደሚያስፈልግም አመልክቷል፡፡ ..ከሁለቱ መካከል የሚወላውለትን ደግሞ ሚናቸውን እንዲለዩ ለማድረግ በመጣር የመድብለ ፓርቲ ፖለቲካ በይበልጥ ጤናማ አቅጣጫ ተከትሎ እንዲያድግ ለማድረግ ጥረት ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል.. ይላል፡፡
በሪፖርቱ ክፍል ሁለት የኢኮኖሚያዊና ማህበራዊ ልማት ተግባራት የተዳሰሱ ሲሆን በ1996 ዓ.ም. 10.37 ሚሊዮን ሜትሪክ ቶን የነበረው አጠቃላይ ምርት በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ወደ 16.45 ሚሊዮን ሜትሪክ ቶን ማደጉን ያመለክታል፡፡ በፊት በሄክታር ይመረት ከነበረው 11.9 ኩንታል ምርት በሄክታር ወደ 17 ኩንታል ከፍ ማለቱንም ያመለክታል፡፡
ኢሕእዴግ ለወጣቶችና ለሴቶች ትኩረት እንደሚሰጥ በተለያዩ የሪፖርቱ ክፍሎች ላይ የተመለከተ ሲሆን ..የገጠር ወጣቶች በገጠር መሬት ላይ ያላቸው ድርሻ ዝቅተኛ በመሆኑ ምክንያት ከልማቱ እኩል ተጠቃሚ ሆነዋል ማለት አይቻልም፡፡ ሴቶችም በሁሉም አካባቢዎች በዋነኛነት በቤት ሥራ በመጠመዳቸው፣ በወንድ ትምክህተኝነት አስተሳሰብ ተፅእኖ ሥር በመውደቃቸው በበርካታ አካባቢዎችም የመሬትና የንብረት ባለቤት ያለመሆን ችግር ስላለባቸው ከሂደቱ እኩል ተጠቃሚ ሳይሆኑ ቀርተዋል.. ይላል፡፡
በመሠረተ ልማት መስክ 15 ሺህ ቀበሌዎች የስልክ አገልግሎት ተጠቃሚ መሆናቸውን፣ ከአገሪቱ ቀበሌዎች ግማሽ ያህሉ የኤሌክትሪክ ተጠቃሚ መሆናቸውን፣ የንፁህ መጠጥ ውሃ ከ30 በመቶ ወደ 60 በመቶ ከፍ ማለቱን፣ እና ሌሎችም ሲዘረዝሩ አብዛኛው ስኬት ከኢሕአዴግ 6ኛ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ውሣኔዎች በኋላ የተገኙ ስኬቶች መሆናቸውን አመልክቷል፡፡
የትምህርትና ጤና ሽፋን በሪፖርቱ ሰፊ ዳሰሳ የተደረገባቸው ሲሆን በአገሪቱ በመጠናቀቅ ላይ ያሉትን 13 ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ጨምሮ የመንግሥት ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ቁጥር 21 መድረሱን ያመለክታል፡፡ ..በሚቀጥሉት ሁለት ዓመታት ቢያንስ 1ዐ ተጨማሪ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎችን የመገንባት ስራ ለመጀመር ጥናት እየተካሄደ ነው.. የሚለው ሪፖርት ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች የሚቀበሏቸው ተማሪዎች በፊት በተቀመጠው 7ዐ በመቶ በሳይንስና ቴክኖሎጂ (40 በመቶ የሚሆኑት የተለያዩ የምህንድስና ዘርፎች፣ 3ዐ በመቶ የሚሆኑት በተፈጥሮ ሳይንስ ዘርፎች) እንደሚሰለጥኑ ያመለክታል፡፡ የዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ካሪኩለም መሻሻል፣ የውጭ ባለሙያዎችንና ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ከአገር ውስጥ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ጋር ማቀራረብ ትኩረት እንደሚሰጠውም ተመልክቷል፡፡
ሪፖርቱ በውጭ ግንኙነት፣ በማይክሮ ፋይናንስ፣ በኢንቨስትመንት የተገኙ ለውጦችንም አቅርቧል፡፡ ስለ ወቅታዊው የኢትዮ-ሶማሊያ፣ ኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ጉዳዮችም ሪፖርቱ የገለፀ ሲሆን ስለቀጣይ የውጭ ግንኙነት ተግባራትም አመላክቷል፡፡
ኢሕእዴግ በዚህ የ7ተኛው ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ገቢውንና ወጪውን ሪፖርት የሚያደርግ ሲሆን በ1999 ዓ.ም. ብር 17.8 ሚሊዮን እንዲሁም በ2000 ዓ.ም. 11.4 ሚሊዮን ብር በድምሩ 29.2 ሚሊዮን ብር ማግኘቱን ሲገልፅ የ1999ኙ ገቢ 7ዐ በመቶ ያህሉ የተገኘው አባል ድርጅቶች ካደረጉት የገንዘብ አስተዋፅኦ ሲሆን ቀሪው በባንክ ተቀማጭ ከሆነ ገንዘብ የተገኘ ወለድና የመሳሰሉት ገቢዎች የተገኙ መሆኑ ተመልክቷል፡፡
ከነዚህ ገቢዎች በተጨማሪ በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ብሔራዊ ድርጅቶችና ኢሕአዴግ በጋራ ከየክልሉ ሕዝብ ድርጅቱን ለማጠናከሪያ የሚሆን የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ለማሰባሰብ ባካሄዱት ጥረት እስካሁን 75.6 ሚሊዮን ብር መሠብሰቡን ሲገልፅ በስምምነቱ መሠረት የገቢው 3ዐ በመቶ ለክልሎች እንደሚሰጥ በሪፖርቱ ተመልክቷል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ኢሕአዴግ በራሱ ከግል ባለሃብቶች የማሰልጠኛ ማዕከሉን ለመገንባት የሚያስችል ድጋፍ ለማሰባሰብ ባካሄደው እንቅስቃሴ በዓይነትና በብር 7ዐ ሚሊዮን ያህል ገቢ አግኝቷል፡፡ በአጠቃላይ ኢሕአዴግ በዚህ ዓመት ብቻ 167 ሚሊዮን ብር ማግኘቱን ከሪፖርቱ ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡
ፓርቲው የፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ስራዎቹን ለማከናወንም በ1999 ዓ.ም. 18.8 ሚሊዮን ብር ሲያወጣ በ2000 ዓ.ም. 18.7 ሚሊዮን ብር በድምሩ 37.5 ሚሊዮን ብር ወጪ ማድረጉን ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
ሪፖርቱ በማጠቃለያው ..የተሃድሶውን ዓላማ ለማሳካት የሚያስችል በከፍተኛ ደረጃ የተቀናጀ ድርጅታዊና መንግሥታዊ አመራርና ሠፊ የሕዝብ ንቅናቄ በመፍጠር የተሃድሷችንን ፍሬ ለአዳዲስ የተሃድሶ ድሎች እንጠቀምበት.. ይላል፡፡
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Member Area Wednesday Sep 03rdHome Sections የኢሕአዴግ ሃሳብና - ጉባዔው
የኢሕአዴግ ሃሳብና - ጉባዔው
Sunday, 31 August 2008
በጌታቸው ንጋቱ
ገዢው ፓርቲ ኢሕአዴግ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔውን በመስከረም 2ዐዐ1 መጀመሪያ ላይ ያካሂዳል፡፡ ፓርቲው፣ በጉባዔው ላይ የሚያቀርበውን ረቂቅ የፓርቲው አመራሮች ካዩት በኋላ ማሻሻያዎች ካሉ ታክለውበት ለጉባዔው ይቀርባል፡፡
7ተኛው የኢሕአዴግ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ..ስኬታማ ተግባሮቻችንን በማስፋፋት የኢትዮጵያን ሕዳሴ በፅኑ መሠረት ላይ እንገነባለን.. በሚል መሪ ቃል የሚካሄድ ሲሆን በተለያዩ መስኮች ፓርቲው ያካሄዳቸው እንቅስቃሴዎችም በተዘጋጀው ሪፖርት ውስጥ ተካተዋል፡፡ 7ተኛው ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔም የሚወያይበት ዋነኛ አጀንዳ በኢሕአዴግ ምክር ቤት የቀረበው ይኸው ሪፖርት ነው፡፡ ሪፖርቱ በፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ጉዳዮች በዴሞክራሲና በመልካም አስተዳደር፣ በኢኮኖሚና ማህበራዊ ልማት እንዲሁም በውጭ ግንኙነትና አገራዊ ደህንነት ዙሪያ የተጠናቀረ ነው፡፡
..ተሃድሷችን ፍሬ ማፍራት ጀምሯል.. ሲል የሚጀምረው ሪፖርት ድርጅቱ የቆመለትን አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ኘሮግራም በተግባር ላይ ለማዋል ላለፉት 17 ዓመታት በስልጣን ላይ ሆኖ ሲታገል መቆየቱን ይገልፃል፡፡ ከነዚህ ውስጥም በመጀመሪያዎቹ 11 ዓመታት በርካታ ጥያቄዎችን በጥራት አለመመለሳቸውንና ብዙ መሥራት እየተቻለ በግልፅነት እጦት ወደ መቆም ከማምራቱም በላይ በተለይ በኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ጦርነት ወቅት ወደ ማሽቆልቆል አምርቶ እንደነበር ይገልፃል፡፡
በዚሁ የሪፖርቱ መግቢያ ላይ ኢሕአዴግ አገሪቱን በፈጣን እድገትና በተሟላ የዴሞክራሲ አቅጣጫ ማራመድ መጀመሩን ሲገልፅ ..የተያያዝነው የለውጥ ጉዞ በየደረጃው የሚያጋጥሙትን ችግሮችና ፈተናዎች በብስለት እየፈታን በጀመረበት ፍጥነት እንዲቀጥል ለማድረግ ከቻልን መካከለኛ ገቢ ያላቸውን አገሮች ጐራ ካሰብነው ወቅት ጥቂት ቀደም ብለን ልንቀላቀል እንደምንችል በእርግጠኝነት መናገር የምንችልበት ሁኔታ እየተፈጠረ ነው.. ይላል፡፡
ከተሃድሶው በኋላ ሚሊዮኖች የኢሕአዴግን ሰልፍ ተቀላቅለው አባላት መሆናቸውን የሚያመለክተው ሪፖርቱ፣ ..በዚህ መሠረት በአሁኑ ጊዜ ድርጅታችን በአገር አቀፍ ደረጃ 4.5 ሚሊዮን ያህል አባላት ያሉት ድርጅት ሆኗል.. ይላል፡፡ ድርጅቱም በከተሞች ያሉትን ሳይጨምር በገጠር ብቻ ከ3.7 ሚሊዮን በላይ የሆኑ ግንባር ቀደም አርሶ አደሮችና የገጠር ሙያተኛ አባላት ለማቀፍ መቻሉንም ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡ ድርጅቱ በገጠር ቀበሌዎች ያለው ህልውናም በነዚሁ ..ግንባር ቀደም አርሶ አደሮች.. ላይ የተመሠረተ መሆኑን ያመለክታል፡፡
አባላቱን በዚህ የትግል ሂደት የሚመራ ራሱን እያበቃ ከፍተኛ አመራርን ጨምሮ በልዩ ልዩ የሥራ መስኮች የሚሠማራ የብቁ የሠው ኃይል ፍላጐት ምንጭ ሆኖ የሚያገለግል የመካከለኛ አመራር ለመፍጠር ከፍተኛ ጥረት መደረጉን ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡ ተከታታይ ስልጠናዎች በመስጠት በ1999 ዓ.ም. ከህዳር እስከ የካቲት በሁለት ዙር 15..354 የከፍተኛና መካከለኛ አመራር፣ በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ክረምት ለ16..ዐዐዐ የመካከለኛ አመራር አባላት ስልጠና መሠጠቱንና እየተሰጠም መሆኑን ያመለክታል፡፡
የቀበሌ አመራሮችንም አቅም ለመገንባት ሁለት ተከታታይ ስልጠናዎች የተሰጡ ሲሆን በድምሩ 46ዐ..ዐዐዐ ያህል የቀበሌ አመራር አባላት መሠልጠናቸው ተገልጿል፡፡ በአሁኑ ጊዜም የትምህርት ደረጃ የሚያሟሉና በተግባር እየተፈተኑ ብቃታቸውን በማረጋገጥ ላይ የሚገኙ በየወረዳው ከ25-30 የሚደርሱ በድምሩ 15 ሺ ያህል የመካከለኛ አመራር ካድሬዎች መመደብ መቻሉንም ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
ኢህአዴግ ሁሉም አባላቱ በመሠረታዊ ድርጅቶችና ከዚያም አልፎ በጥናት ህዋሳት እንዲዋቀሩ መደረጉን ሲገልፅ 4.5 ሚሊዮን አባላቱ በ18..263 ያህል መሠረታዊ ድርጅቶችና በ238..380 ያህል የጥናት ህዋሳት ተደራጅተው የሚንቀሳቀሱበት የጥንካሬ ደረጃ ላይ እንደደረሰ ሪፖርቱ ያስቀምጣል፡፡
በገጠር አካባቢዎች ሴቶችና ወጣቶችን በተመለከተ በርካታ ሥራዎች መሠራታቸውን ሪፖርቱ ሲገልፅ የወጣቶችንና ሴቶችን ተጠቃሚነትና ተሳትፎ የሚያረጋግጡ ፓኬጆች መዘጋጀታቸውን፣ ፓኬጆቹ ከተዘጋጁ በኋላ በተወሰነ ደረጃ ወደ ተግባር መሸጋገር የተቻለ መሆኑንና አሁን ደግሞ ወጣት እና ሴት አባላቶች በአብዮታዊ ዴሞክራሲ አመራር ስር የወጣቶችንና የሴቶችን ትግል ለመምራት አስበው በቀረጿቸው የየራሳቸው ኘሮግራሞች የኢህአዴግን ትግል ወደ ከፍተኛ ትግል እንደሚያሸጋግሩ ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
በገጠር አካባቢዎች የሰራቸውን ሥራዎች ፓርቲው ሲዘረዝር ..በገጠር ለኪራይ ሰብሳቢነት አመቺ የነበረው የፖለቲካ ኢኮኖሚ እየተናደ ለልማታዊነትና ዴሞክራሲያዊነት እንዲሁም በእነዚህ ላይ ለተመሠረተ መልካም አስተዳደር የተመቸ ሁኔታ እየተፈጠረ ይገኛል.. ይላል፡፡ አርሶ አደሩ በተቻለው አቅም የፖለቲካ ተሳትፎ ቢያደርግም በቂ ትምህርትና ልምድ ስለሌለው ሥልጠና እንደሚያስፈልገው ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡ በገጠር መልካም አስተዳደርን ለማስፈን እጅግ ተፈላጊ የሆነው የሕዝብን የተደራጀ ተሳትፎ የማረጋገጥ ጉዳይ ይበልጥ እየቀለለና እየተሳካ የሚሄድበት ሁኔታ መፈጠሩንም ሪፖርቱ ይገልፃል፡፡
በገጠር ያለውን የኢሕአዴግ እንቅስቃሴ በሠፊው የቃኘው ይኸው ሪፖርት በሚቀጥሉት ሁለት ዓመታት በገጠር ዴሞክራሲና መልካም አስተዳደርን ለማጐልበት የሚከተላቸውን አቅጣጫዎች አስቀምጧል፡፡ በቅድሚያ ከዚህ ቀደም የተዘጋጁትን የመልካም አስተዳደር ፓኬጅና የሲቪል ሠርቪስ ማሻሻያ ኘሮግራሞችን ያዋሃደ አንድ ወጥ ኘሮግራም እንደሚቀረፅ፣ በገጠር የሕዝብ ተሳትፎን ለማረጋገጥ የተቋቋሙ የሕዝብ አደረጃጀቶችን ማስፋትና ማጠናከር እንደሚሠራና በገጠር የትምህርትና የባህል ደረጃ ዝቅተኛነት ትምህርት በማስፋፋትና የሕዝቡን የባህል ደረጃ ከፍ የማድረግ ስልቶች እንደሚጠቀም ያመላክታል፡፡
ኢሕአዴግ በከተማ ያለውን የፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ተግባራት አፈፃፀም እና የሚገኝበትን ሁኔታና ቀጣይ ተግባራት አስመልክቶም በአሁኑ ሠዓት በድምሩ ከ7 መቶ ሺህ በላይ የሚቆጠሩ አባላት በከተሞች እንዳሉት ሲገልፅ አባላቱም በሴቶች፣ በወጣቶችና በሌሎችም ማህበራት ውስጥ በመግባት ህብረተሰቡን ለልማትና ለዴሞክራሲ ማታገል መጀመራቸውን ያስረዳል፡፡ ..እጅግ የሚበዛው የከተማ ሕዝብ ኑሮው ከአነስተኛና ጥቃቅን ተቋሞች ላይ ግንባር ቀደም ሚና የሚጫወቱ ግለሰቦችን በአባልነት ለመመልመልና ለማሰልጠን ጥረት ተደርጓል.. የሚለው ሪፖርቱ ለከተሞች በተቀየሱ የትግል አጀንዳዎች ዙሪያ የአባላትን ብቃት ከፍ ማድረግ እንደሚያስፈልግ ይገልፃል፡፡
..የከተማው የልማት እንቅስቃሴ ዛሬም ቢሆን መድረስ የሚገባው ደረጃ ላይ አልደረሰም፡፡ ይህም በመሆኑ እንደገጠሩ በሚሊዮኖች የሚቆጠሩ ግንባር ቀደም የልማት አርበኞች ማፍራት ሳይቻል ቀርቷል.. የሚለው የ7ተኛ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ረቂቅ ሪፖርት በአባልነት የታቀፉት ግንባር ቀደሞች የዘርፉ ተዋናይ መሆን ያልቻሉና አቅም ያልፈጠሩ መሆናቸውን ይገልፃል፡፡
ኢሕአዴግ በገጠር ያሉት 3.7 ሚሊዮን አባላት ቁጥር ለጊዜው እንደሚበቁትና ዋነኛው ስራ የአባላቱን አቅም ማጠናከር መሆኑን ሲገልፅ በከተማ ግን በሠፊው አባላት መመልመልና የማስፋት ሥራ እንደሚሰራ በሪፖርቱ አስታውቋል፡፡
በከተሞች የመልካም አስተዳደርና የዴሞክራሲን መሠረት ለማስፋት የሚካሄደው የኪራይ ሠብሳቢነት መሠረትና ምንጭ የሆኑትን ችግሮች ማስወገድ ሲቻል መሆኑን የሚያትተው ሪፖርቱ የአነስተኛ ብድርና ቁጠባ ተቋማትን እንዲሁም የቴክኖሎጂ አቅርቦትና ድጋፍ ተቋማትን ለማጠናከር ትኩረት እንደሚሰጥ ያብራራል፡፡
በሪፖርቱ የግሉ ሚዲያ የሚገኝበት ሁኔታም የተዳሰሰ ሲሆን ..የግሉ ሚዲያ በዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት ውስጥ ገንቢ ሚና እንዲጫወት ለማድረግ በህትመትና በኤሌክትሮኒክ ዘርፍ የተጀመረው ሕገ መንግሥቱን መሠረት ያደረገ እንቅስቃሴ እንዲቀጥል ጥረት ተደርጓል.. በማለት የሚገልፀው ሪፖርቱ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የግል ኤሌክትሮኒክስ ሚዲያዎች በኤፍ.ኤም የስርጭት መስመሮች መከፈቱን ያመለክታል፡፡
..ከምርጫ 97 በፊትና በኋላ በግል የሕትመት ሚዲያው አካባቢ የታየውን በጐ ያልሆነ አዝማሚያ መልክ ለማስያዝ ባለፉት ሁለትና ሦስት ዓመታት የተለያዩ ጥረቶች ተደርገዋል፡፡ ሕገ መንግሥቱንና ሕግን አክብረው ባልተንቀሳቀሱ ሚዲያዎች ላይ አስፈላጊው ሕጋዊ እርምጃ ተወስዷል.. የሚለው ይህ ሪፖርት ከፊት ይታይ የነበረውን ..አፍራሽ አዝማሚያ.. በተወሰነ ደረጃ ማርገብ መቻሉን ያትታል፡፡ መንግሥትም ለግሉ ሚዲያ በተሻለ ደረጃ በእጁ ያሉትን መረጃ እንዲያገኝ ማድረጉን ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
..ይህም ሆኖ በሚዲያ አካባቢ የሚንፀባረቀው የኪራይ ሰብሳቢነት አስተሳሰብና ተግባር እንደገና በማገርሸት በከፋ መልኩ መገለፅ ጀምሯል፡፡ ይህን ችግር መገንዘብና ቀደም ሲል አፍራሽ አዝማሚያ የነበረው ኃይል በሚዲያው ላይ የበላይነት ይዞ የነበረበት ሁኔታ እንዳይመለስ ከፍተኛ ጥረት ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል.. በማለት መንግሥት ሚዲያው ለዴሞክራሲና ልማት መጠናከር በሚበጅ አኳኋን እንዲንቀሳቀስ ለማድረግ አስፈላጊውን ፖለቲካዊና ሕጋዊ እርምጃ አጠናክሮ መቀጠሉ ተገቢ መሆኑ ይገልፃል፡፡
በዚሁ የሪፖርቱ ክፍል መንግሥታዊ ያልሆኑ ድርጅቶች ጐላ ብሎ የሚታይ የሚና መደበላለቅ ችግር የሚታይባቸው በመሆኑ ይህንን ለማስተካከል ድርጅቶቹ ከባህሪያቸውና ከተልዕኳቸው በመነሳት የሚተዳደሩበት ራሱን የቻለ ሕግ እንዲወጣና በቀጣዩ ዓመትም ለሕዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት ቀርቦ እንደሚፀድቅና በተግባር ላይ እንደሚውል አስታውቋል፡፡
የሪፖርቱ የመጀመሪያ ክፍል ሲጠቃለልም ..የፖለቲካ ፅንፈኝነትና ጤናማና የተረጋጋ የመድብለ ፓርቲ ለመገንባት የሚጫወተውን አሉታዊ ሚና መገንዘብ በሚቀጥሉት ዓመታት ገንቢ የተቃዋሚነት ሚና መጫወት ከጀመሩ ፓርቲዎች ጋር ከሚናቸው ጋር የሚመጥን ግንኙነት ኢሕአዴግ እንደሚኖረው ይገልፃል፡፡ ገንቢ ሚና የሚጫወቱትን ፓርቲዎች ኢሕአዴግ እንደሚያበረታታና ሕገ ወጦችን ተከታትሎ ለሕግ ማቅረብ እንደሚያስፈልግም አመልክቷል፡፡ ..ከሁለቱ መካከል የሚወላውለትን ደግሞ ሚናቸውን እንዲለዩ ለማድረግ በመጣር የመድብለ ፓርቲ ፖለቲካ በይበልጥ ጤናማ አቅጣጫ ተከትሎ እንዲያድግ ለማድረግ ጥረት ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል.. ይላል፡፡
በሪፖርቱ ክፍል ሁለት የኢኮኖሚያዊና ማህበራዊ ልማት ተግባራት የተዳሰሱ ሲሆን በ1996 ዓ.ም. 10.37 ሚሊዮን ሜትሪክ ቶን የነበረው አጠቃላይ ምርት በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ወደ 16.45 ሚሊዮን ሜትሪክ ቶን ማደጉን ያመለክታል፡፡ በፊት በሄክታር ይመረት ከነበረው 11.9 ኩንታል ምርት በሄክታር ወደ 17 ኩንታል ከፍ ማለቱንም ያመለክታል፡፡
ኢሕእዴግ ለወጣቶችና ለሴቶች ትኩረት እንደሚሰጥ በተለያዩ የሪፖርቱ ክፍሎች ላይ የተመለከተ ሲሆን ..የገጠር ወጣቶች በገጠር መሬት ላይ ያላቸው ድርሻ ዝቅተኛ በመሆኑ ምክንያት ከልማቱ እኩል ተጠቃሚ ሆነዋል ማለት አይቻልም፡፡ ሴቶችም በሁሉም አካባቢዎች በዋነኛነት በቤት ሥራ በመጠመዳቸው፣ በወንድ ትምክህተኝነት አስተሳሰብ ተፅእኖ ሥር በመውደቃቸው በበርካታ አካባቢዎችም የመሬትና የንብረት ባለቤት ያለመሆን ችግር ስላለባቸው ከሂደቱ እኩል ተጠቃሚ ሳይሆኑ ቀርተዋል.. ይላል፡፡
በመሠረተ ልማት መስክ 15 ሺህ ቀበሌዎች የስልክ አገልግሎት ተጠቃሚ መሆናቸውን፣ ከአገሪቱ ቀበሌዎች ግማሽ ያህሉ የኤሌክትሪክ ተጠቃሚ መሆናቸውን፣ የንፁህ መጠጥ ውሃ ከ30 በመቶ ወደ 60 በመቶ ከፍ ማለቱን፣ እና ሌሎችም ሲዘረዝሩ አብዛኛው ስኬት ከኢሕአዴግ 6ኛ ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ውሣኔዎች በኋላ የተገኙ ስኬቶች መሆናቸውን አመልክቷል፡፡
የትምህርትና ጤና ሽፋን በሪፖርቱ ሰፊ ዳሰሳ የተደረገባቸው ሲሆን በአገሪቱ በመጠናቀቅ ላይ ያሉትን 13 ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ጨምሮ የመንግሥት ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ቁጥር 21 መድረሱን ያመለክታል፡፡ ..በሚቀጥሉት ሁለት ዓመታት ቢያንስ 1ዐ ተጨማሪ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎችን የመገንባት ስራ ለመጀመር ጥናት እየተካሄደ ነው.. የሚለው ሪፖርት ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች የሚቀበሏቸው ተማሪዎች በፊት በተቀመጠው 7ዐ በመቶ በሳይንስና ቴክኖሎጂ (40 በመቶ የሚሆኑት የተለያዩ የምህንድስና ዘርፎች፣ 3ዐ በመቶ የሚሆኑት በተፈጥሮ ሳይንስ ዘርፎች) እንደሚሰለጥኑ ያመለክታል፡፡ የዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ካሪኩለም መሻሻል፣ የውጭ ባለሙያዎችንና ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ከአገር ውስጥ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ጋር ማቀራረብ ትኩረት እንደሚሰጠውም ተመልክቷል፡፡
ሪፖርቱ በውጭ ግንኙነት፣ በማይክሮ ፋይናንስ፣ በኢንቨስትመንት የተገኙ ለውጦችንም አቅርቧል፡፡ ስለ ወቅታዊው የኢትዮ-ሶማሊያ፣ ኢትዮ-ኤርትራ ጉዳዮችም ሪፖርቱ የገለፀ ሲሆን ስለቀጣይ የውጭ ግንኙነት ተግባራትም አመላክቷል፡፡
ኢሕእዴግ በዚህ የ7ተኛው ድርጅታዊ ጉባዔ ገቢውንና ወጪውን ሪፖርት የሚያደርግ ሲሆን በ1999 ዓ.ም. ብር 17.8 ሚሊዮን እንዲሁም በ2000 ዓ.ም. 11.4 ሚሊዮን ብር በድምሩ 29.2 ሚሊዮን ብር ማግኘቱን ሲገልፅ የ1999ኙ ገቢ 7ዐ በመቶ ያህሉ የተገኘው አባል ድርጅቶች ካደረጉት የገንዘብ አስተዋፅኦ ሲሆን ቀሪው በባንክ ተቀማጭ ከሆነ ገንዘብ የተገኘ ወለድና የመሳሰሉት ገቢዎች የተገኙ መሆኑ ተመልክቷል፡፡
ከነዚህ ገቢዎች በተጨማሪ በ2ዐዐዐ ዓ.ም. ብሔራዊ ድርጅቶችና ኢሕአዴግ በጋራ ከየክልሉ ሕዝብ ድርጅቱን ለማጠናከሪያ የሚሆን የገንዘብ ድጋፍ ለማሰባሰብ ባካሄዱት ጥረት እስካሁን 75.6 ሚሊዮን ብር መሠብሰቡን ሲገልፅ በስምምነቱ መሠረት የገቢው 3ዐ በመቶ ለክልሎች እንደሚሰጥ በሪፖርቱ ተመልክቷል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ኢሕአዴግ በራሱ ከግል ባለሃብቶች የማሰልጠኛ ማዕከሉን ለመገንባት የሚያስችል ድጋፍ ለማሰባሰብ ባካሄደው እንቅስቃሴ በዓይነትና በብር 7ዐ ሚሊዮን ያህል ገቢ አግኝቷል፡፡ በአጠቃላይ ኢሕአዴግ በዚህ ዓመት ብቻ 167 ሚሊዮን ብር ማግኘቱን ከሪፖርቱ ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡
ፓርቲው የፖለቲካና ድርጅታዊ ስራዎቹን ለማከናወንም በ1999 ዓ.ም. 18.8 ሚሊዮን ብር ሲያወጣ በ2000 ዓ.ም. 18.7 ሚሊዮን ብር በድምሩ 37.5 ሚሊዮን ብር ወጪ ማድረጉን ሪፖርቱ ያመለክታል፡፡
ሪፖርቱ በማጠቃለያው ..የተሃድሶውን ዓላማ ለማሳካት የሚያስችል በከፍተኛ ደረጃ የተቀናጀ ድርጅታዊና መንግሥታዊ አመራርና ሠፊ የሕዝብ ንቅናቄ በመፍጠር የተሃድሷችንን ፍሬ ለአዳዲስ የተሃድሶ ድሎች እንጠቀምበት.. ይላል፡፡
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Copyright © 2008 Reporter - Amharic Version. Designed by isynconline.com
Business Process ReEngineering a Value adding tool or a dehumanizing gadget
Business process reengineering
. (August 2008)
Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management approach aiming at improvements by means of elevating efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that exist within and across organizations. The key to BPR is for organizations to look at their business processes from a "clean slate" perspective and determine how they can best construct these processes to improve how they conduct business.
Business process reengineering is also known as BPR, Business Process Redesign, Business Transformation, or Business Process Change Management.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Definition of BPR
3 The role of information technology
4 Methodology
5 Successes
6 Critique
7 Development after 1995
8 See also
9 External links
10 Notes
History
In 1990, Michael Hammer, a former professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published an article in the Harvard Business Review, in which he claimed that the major challenge for managers is to obliterate non-value adding work, rather than using technology for automating it (Hammer 1990).
This statement implicitly accused managers of having focused on the wrong issues, namely that technology in general, and more specifically information technology, has been used primarily for automating existing work rather than using it as an enabler for making non-value adding work obsolete.
Hammer's claim was simple: Most of the work being done does not add any value for customers, and this work should be removed, not accelerated through automation. Instead, companies should reconsider their processes in order to maximize customer value, while minimizing the consumption of resources required for delivering their product or service.
A similar idea was advocated by Thomas H. Davenport and J. Short (1990), at that time a member of the Ernst & Young research center, in a paper published in the Sloan Management Review the same year as Hammer published his paper.
This idea, to unbiasedly review a company’s business processes, was rapidly adopted by a huge number of firms, which were striving for renewed competitiveness, which they had lost due to the market entrance of foreign competitors, their inability to satisfy customer needs, and their insufficient cost structure.
Even well established management thinkers, such as Peter Drucker and Tom Peters, were accepting and advocating BPR as a new tool for (re-)achieving success in a dynamic world. During the following years, a fast growing number of publications, books as well as journal articles, was dedicated to BPR, and many consulting firms embarked on this trend and developed BPR methods.
However, the critics were fast to claim that BPR was a way to dehumanize the work place, increase managerial control, and to justify downsizing, i.e. major reductions of the work force (Greenbaum 1995, Industry Week 1994), and a rebirth of Taylorism under a different label.
Despite this critique, reengineering was adopted at an accelerating pace and by 1993, as many as 65% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. This trend was fueled by the fast adoption of BPR by the consulting industry, but also by the study Made in America, conducted by MIT, that showed how companies in many US industries had lagged behind their foreign counterparts in terms of competitiveness, time-to-market and productivity.
Definition of BPR
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Different definitions can be found. This section contains the definition provided in notable publications in the field.
Hammer and Champy (1993) define BPR as
"... the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed."
Thomas H. Davenport (1993), another well-known BPR theorist, uses the term process innovation, which he says
”encompasses the envisioning of new work strategies, the actual process design activity, and the implementation of the change in all its complex technological, human, and organizational dimensions”.
Additionally, Davenport (ibid.) points out the major difference between BPR and other approaches to organization development (OD), especially the continuous improvement or TQM movement, when he states:
"Today firms must seek not fractional, but multiplicative levels of improvement – 10x rather than 10%."
Finally, Johansson et al. (1993) provide a description of BPR relative to other process-oriented views, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just-in-time (JIT), and state:
"Business Process Reengineering, although a close relative, seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. It escalates the efforts of JIT and TQM to make process orientation a strategic tool and a core competence of the organization. BPR concentrates on core business processes, and uses the specific techniques within the JIT and TQM ”toolboxes” as enablers, while broadening the process vision."
In order to achieve the major improvements BPR is seeking for, the change of structural organizational variables, and other ways of managing and performing work is often considered as being insufficient. For being able to reap the achievable benefits fully, the use of information technology (IT) is conceived as a major contributing factor. While IT traditionally has been used for supporting the existing business functions, i.e. it was used for increasing organizational efficiency, it now plays a role as enabler of new organizational forms, and patterns of collaboration within and between organizations.
BPR derives its existence from different disciplines, and four major areas can be identified as being subjected to change in BPR - organization, technology, strategy, and people - where a process view is used as common framework for considering these dimensions. The approach can be graphically depicted by a modification of "Leavitt’s diamond" (Leavitt 1965).
Business strategy is the primary driver of BPR initiatives and the other dimensions are governed by strategy's encompassing role. The organization dimension reflects the structural elements of the company, such as hierarchical levels, the composition of organizational units, and the distribution of work between them.
Technology is concerned with the use of computer systems and other forms of communication technology in the business. In BPR, information technology is generally considered as playing a role as enabler of new forms of organizing and collaborating, rather than supporting existing business functions. The people / human resources dimension deals with aspects such as education, training, motivation and reward systems.
The concept of business processes - interrelated activities aiming at creating a value added output to a customer - is the basic underlying idea of BPR. These processes are characterized by a number of attributes: Process ownership, customer focus, value adding, and cross-functionality.
The role of information technology
Information technology (IT) has historically played an important role in the reengineering concept. It is considered by some as a major enabler for new forms of working and collaborating within an organization and across organizational borders.
The early BPR literature, e.g. Hammer & Champy (1993), identified several so called disruptive technologies that were supposed to challenge traditional wisdom about how work should be performed.
Shared databases, making information available at many places Expert systems,
allowing generalists to perform specialist tasks Telecommunication networks,
allowing organizations to be centralized and decentralized at the same time
Decision-support tools,
allowing decision-making to be a part of everybody's job
Wireless data communication and portable computers, allowing field personnel to work office independent Interactive videodisk,
to get in immediate contact with potential buyers Automatic identification and tracking,
allowing things to tell where they are, instead of requiring to be found High performance computing,
allowing on-the-fly planning and revisioning In the mid 1990s, especially workflow management systems were considered as a significant contributor to improved process efficiency.
Also ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, positioned their solutions as vehicles for business process redesign and improvement.
Methodology
Although the labels and steps differ slightly, the early methodologies that were rooted in IT-centric BPR solutions share many of the same basic principles and elements. The following outline is one such model, based on the PRLC (Process Reengineering Life Cycle) approach developed by Guha et.al. (1993).
Simplified schematic outline of using a business process approach, examplified for pharmceutical R&D:
1. Structural organization with functional units
2. Introduction of New Product Development as cross-functional process
3. Re-structuring and streamlining activities, removal of non-value adding tasksEnvision new processes
Secure management support
Identify reengineering opportunities
Identify enabling technologies
Align with corporate strategy
Initiating change
Set up reengineering team
Outline performance goals
Process diagnosis
Describe existing processes
Uncover pathologies in existing processes
Process redesign
Develop alternative process scenarios
Develop new process design
Design HR architecture
Select IT platform
Develop overall blueprint and gather feedback
Reconstruction
Develop/install IT solution
Establish process changes
Process monitoring
Performance measurement, including time, quality, cost, IT performance
Link to continuous improvement
Benefiting from lessons learned from the early adopters, some BPR practitioners advocated a change in emphasis to a customer-centric, as opposed to an IT-centric, methodology.
One such methodology, that also incorporated a Risk and Impact Assessment to account for the impact that BPR can have on jobs and operations, was described by Lon Roberts (1994). Roberts also stressed the use of change management tools to proactively address resistance to change—a factor linked to the demise of many reengineering initiatives that looked good on the drawing board.
Also within the management consulting industry, a significant number of methodological approaches have been developed. A set of short papers, outlining and comparing some of them can be found here, followed by some guidelines for companies considering to contract a consultancy for a BPR initiative:
Overview
Andersen Consulting (now Accenture)
Bain & Co.
Boston Consulting Group
McKinsey & Co.
Comparison
Guidelines for BPR consulting clients
Successes
This article or section is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view. For blatant advertising that would require a fundamental rewrite to become encyclopedic, use {{db-spam}} to mark for speedy deletion. (April 2008)
BPR, if implemented properly, can give huge returns. BPR has helped giants like Procter and Gamble Corporation and General Motors Corporation succeed after financial drawbacks due to competition.
It helped American Airlines somewhat get back on track from the bad debt that is currently haunting their business practice. BPR is about the proper method of implementation.
General Motors Corporation implemented a 3-year plan to consolidate their multiple desktop systems into one. It is known internally as "Consistent Office Environment" (Booker, 1994).
This reengineering process involved replacing the numerous brands of desktop systems, network operating systems and application development tools into a more manageable number of vendors and technology platforms. According to Donald G. Hedeen, director of desktops and deployment at GM and manager of the upgrade program, he says that the process "lays the foundation for the implementation of a common business communication strategy across General Motors." (Booker, 1994).
Lotus Development Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Development Company, formerly Compaq Computer Corporation, received the single largest non-government sales ever from General Motors Corporation. GM also planned to use Novell NetWare as a security client, Microsoft Office and Hewlett-Packard printers.
According to Donald G. Hedeen, this saved GM 10% to 25% on support costs, 3% to 5% on hardware, 40% to 60% on software licensing fees, and increased efficiency by overcoming incompatibility issues by using just one platform across the entire company.
Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of DELL Incorporated, which has been in business since 1983 and has been the world's fastest growing major PC Company. Michael Dell's idea of a successful business is to keep the smallest inventory possible by having a direct link with the manufacturer.
When a customer places an order, the custom parts requested by the customer are automatically sent to the manufacturer for shipment. This reduces the cost for inventory tracking and massive warehouse maintenance.
Dell's website is noted for bringing in nearly "$10 million each day in sales."(Smith, 1999). Michael Dell mentions: "If you have a good strategy with sound economics, the real challenge is to get people excited about what you're doing.
A lot of businesses get off track because they don't communicate an excitement about being part of a winning team that can achieve big goals. If a company can't motivate its people and it doesn't have a clear compass, it will drift." (Smith, 1999) Dell's stocks have been ranked as the top stock for the decade of the 1990s, when it had a return of 57,282% (Knestout and Ramage, 1999).
Michael Dell is now concentrating more on customer service than selling computers since the PC market price has pretty much equalized. Michael Dell notes: "The new frontier in our industry is service, which is a much greater differentiator when price has been equalized.
In our industry, there's been a pretty huge gap between what customers want in service and what they can get, so they've come to expect mediocre service. We may be the best in this area, but we can still improve quite a bit—in the quality of the product, the availability of parts, service and delivery time." (Smith, 1999) Michael Dell understands the concept of BPR and really recognizes where and when to reengineer his business.
Ford reengineered their business and manufacturing process from just manufacturing cars to manufacturing quality cars, where the number one goal is quality. This helped Ford save millions on recalls and warranty repairs. Ford has accomplished this goal by incorporating barcodes on all their parts and scanners to scan for any missing parts in a completed car coming off of the assembly line.
This helped them guarantee a safe and quality car. They have also implemented Voice-over-IP (VoIP) to reduce the cost of having meetings between the branches.
A multi-billion dollar corporation like Procter and Gamble Corporation, which carries 300 brands and growing really has a strong grasp in re-engineering. Procter and Gamble Corporation's chief technology officer, G. Gil Cloyd, explains how a company which carries multiple brands has to contend with the "classic innovator's dilemma — most innovations fail, but companies that don't innovate die.
His solution, innovating innovation..." (Teresko, 2004). Cloyd has helped a company like Procter and Gamble grow to $5.1 billion by the fiscal year of 2004. According to Cloyd's scorecard, he was able to raise the volume by 17%, the organic volume by 10%, sales are at $51.4 billion up by 19%, with organic sales up 8%, earnings are at $6.5 billion up 25% and share earnings up 25%.
Procter and Gamble also has a free cash flow of $7.3 billion or 113% of earnings, dividends up 13% annually with a total shareholder return of 24%. Cloyd states: "The challenge we face is the competitive need for a very rapid pace of innovation.
In the consumer products world, we estimate that the required pace of innovation has double in the last three years. Digital technology is very important in helping us to learn faster." (Teresko, 2004) G. Gil Cloyd also predicts, in the near future, "as much as 90% of P&G's R&D will be done in a virtual world with the remainder being physical validation of results and options." (Teresko, 2004).
Critique
The most frequent and harsh critique against BPR concerns the strict focus on efficiency and technology and the disregard of people in the organization that is subjected to a reengineering initiative. Very often, the label BPR was used for major workforce reductions. Thomas Davenport, an early BPR proponent, stated that
"When I wrote about "business process redesign" in 1990, I explicitly said that using it for cost reduction alone was not a sensible goal. And consultants Michael Hammer and James Champy, the two names most closely associated with reengineering, have insisted all along that layoffs shouldn't be the point. But the fact is, once out of the bottle, the reengineering genie quickly turned ugly." (Davenport, 1995)
Michael Hammer similarly admitted that
"I wasn't smart enough about that. I was reflecting my engineering background and was insufficient appreciative of the human dimension. I've learned that's critical." (White, 1996)
Other criticism brought forward against the BPR concept include
lack of management support for the initiative and thus poor acceptance in the organization.
exaggerated expectations regarding the potential benefits from a BPR initiative and consequently failure to achieve the expected results.
underestimation of the resistance to change within the organization.
implementation of generic so-called best-practice processes that do not fit specific company needs.
overtrust in technology solutions.
performing BPR as a one-off project with limited strategy alignment and long-term perspective.
poor project management.
Development after 1995
With the publication of critiques in 1995 and 1996 by some of the early BPR proponents, coupled with abuses and misuses of the concept by others, the reengineering fervor in the U.S. began to wane. Since then, considering business processes as a starting point for business analysis and redesign has become a widely accepted approach and is a standard part of the change methodology portfolio, but is typically performed in a less radical way as originally proposed.
More recently, the concept of Business Process Management (BPM) has gained major attention in the corporate world and can be considered as a successor to the BPR wave of the 1990s, as it is evenly driven by a striving for process efficiency supported by information technology. Equivalently to the critique brought forward against BPR, BPM is now accused of focusing on technology and disregarding the people aspects of change.
See also
Kaizen
Business Process Management
process improvement
workflow
Service-Oriented Modeling Framework (SOMF)
Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
External links
BPR Articles
Hammering Hammer (A Critical Analysis of Michael Hammer's Process Enterprise approach.)
BPR : Decision engineering in a strained industrial and business environment
Notes
Davenport, Thomas & Short, J. (1990), The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign, in: Sloan Management Review, Summer 1990, pp 11-27
Davenport, Thomas (1993), Process Innovation: Reengineering work through information technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston
Davenport, Thomas (1995), Reengineering - The Fad That Forgot People, Fast Company, November 1995.
Drucker, Peter (1972), Work and Tools, in: W. Kranzberg and W.H. Davenport (eds), Technology and Culture, New York
Greenbaum, Joan (1995), Windows on the workplace, Cornerstone
Guha, S.; Kettinger, W.J. & Teng, T.C., Business Process Reengineering: Building a Comprehensive Methodology, Information Systems Management, Summer 1993
Hammer, Michael (1990), Reengineering Work: Don’t automate, obliterate, Harvard Business Review, Jul/Aug 1990, pp 104-112
Hammer, Michael and Champy, James (1993), Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Harper Business Chapter 1 excerpt
Industry Week (1994), De-engineering the corporation, Industry Week article, 4/18/94
Johansson, Henry J. et.al. (1993), Business Process Reengineering: BreakPoint Strategies for Market Dominance, John Wiley & Sons
Leavitt, H.J. (1965), Applied Organizational Change in Industry: Structural, Technological and Humanistic Approaches, in: James March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations, Rand McNally, Chicago
Loyd, Tom (1994), Giants with Feet of Clay, Financial Times, Dec 5 1994, p 8
Malhotra, Yogesh (1998), Business Process Redesign: An Overview, IEEE Engineering Management Review, vol. 26, no. 3, Fall 1998.
Roberts, Lon (1994), Process Reengineering: The Key To Achieving Breakthrough Success, Quality Press, Milwaukee.
Taylor (1911), Frederick, The principles of scientific management, Harper & Row, New York
Thompson, James D. (1969), Organizations in Action, MacGraw-Hill, New York
White, JB (1996), Wall Street Journal. New York, N.Y.: Nov 26, 1996. pg. A.1
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_reengineering"
Categories: Business terms | Business process | Process management
Hidden categories: Articles needing additional references from August 2008 | Wikipedia articles needing style editing from April 2008 | All articles needing style editing
. (August 2008)
Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management approach aiming at improvements by means of elevating efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that exist within and across organizations. The key to BPR is for organizations to look at their business processes from a "clean slate" perspective and determine how they can best construct these processes to improve how they conduct business.
Business process reengineering is also known as BPR, Business Process Redesign, Business Transformation, or Business Process Change Management.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Definition of BPR
3 The role of information technology
4 Methodology
5 Successes
6 Critique
7 Development after 1995
8 See also
9 External links
10 Notes
History
In 1990, Michael Hammer, a former professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published an article in the Harvard Business Review, in which he claimed that the major challenge for managers is to obliterate non-value adding work, rather than using technology for automating it (Hammer 1990).
This statement implicitly accused managers of having focused on the wrong issues, namely that technology in general, and more specifically information technology, has been used primarily for automating existing work rather than using it as an enabler for making non-value adding work obsolete.
Hammer's claim was simple: Most of the work being done does not add any value for customers, and this work should be removed, not accelerated through automation. Instead, companies should reconsider their processes in order to maximize customer value, while minimizing the consumption of resources required for delivering their product or service.
A similar idea was advocated by Thomas H. Davenport and J. Short (1990), at that time a member of the Ernst & Young research center, in a paper published in the Sloan Management Review the same year as Hammer published his paper.
This idea, to unbiasedly review a company’s business processes, was rapidly adopted by a huge number of firms, which were striving for renewed competitiveness, which they had lost due to the market entrance of foreign competitors, their inability to satisfy customer needs, and their insufficient cost structure.
Even well established management thinkers, such as Peter Drucker and Tom Peters, were accepting and advocating BPR as a new tool for (re-)achieving success in a dynamic world. During the following years, a fast growing number of publications, books as well as journal articles, was dedicated to BPR, and many consulting firms embarked on this trend and developed BPR methods.
However, the critics were fast to claim that BPR was a way to dehumanize the work place, increase managerial control, and to justify downsizing, i.e. major reductions of the work force (Greenbaum 1995, Industry Week 1994), and a rebirth of Taylorism under a different label.
Despite this critique, reengineering was adopted at an accelerating pace and by 1993, as many as 65% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. This trend was fueled by the fast adoption of BPR by the consulting industry, but also by the study Made in America, conducted by MIT, that showed how companies in many US industries had lagged behind their foreign counterparts in terms of competitiveness, time-to-market and productivity.
Definition of BPR
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Different definitions can be found. This section contains the definition provided in notable publications in the field.
Hammer and Champy (1993) define BPR as
"... the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed."
Thomas H. Davenport (1993), another well-known BPR theorist, uses the term process innovation, which he says
”encompasses the envisioning of new work strategies, the actual process design activity, and the implementation of the change in all its complex technological, human, and organizational dimensions”.
Additionally, Davenport (ibid.) points out the major difference between BPR and other approaches to organization development (OD), especially the continuous improvement or TQM movement, when he states:
"Today firms must seek not fractional, but multiplicative levels of improvement – 10x rather than 10%."
Finally, Johansson et al. (1993) provide a description of BPR relative to other process-oriented views, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just-in-time (JIT), and state:
"Business Process Reengineering, although a close relative, seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. It escalates the efforts of JIT and TQM to make process orientation a strategic tool and a core competence of the organization. BPR concentrates on core business processes, and uses the specific techniques within the JIT and TQM ”toolboxes” as enablers, while broadening the process vision."
In order to achieve the major improvements BPR is seeking for, the change of structural organizational variables, and other ways of managing and performing work is often considered as being insufficient. For being able to reap the achievable benefits fully, the use of information technology (IT) is conceived as a major contributing factor. While IT traditionally has been used for supporting the existing business functions, i.e. it was used for increasing organizational efficiency, it now plays a role as enabler of new organizational forms, and patterns of collaboration within and between organizations.
BPR derives its existence from different disciplines, and four major areas can be identified as being subjected to change in BPR - organization, technology, strategy, and people - where a process view is used as common framework for considering these dimensions. The approach can be graphically depicted by a modification of "Leavitt’s diamond" (Leavitt 1965).
Business strategy is the primary driver of BPR initiatives and the other dimensions are governed by strategy's encompassing role. The organization dimension reflects the structural elements of the company, such as hierarchical levels, the composition of organizational units, and the distribution of work between them.
Technology is concerned with the use of computer systems and other forms of communication technology in the business. In BPR, information technology is generally considered as playing a role as enabler of new forms of organizing and collaborating, rather than supporting existing business functions. The people / human resources dimension deals with aspects such as education, training, motivation and reward systems.
The concept of business processes - interrelated activities aiming at creating a value added output to a customer - is the basic underlying idea of BPR. These processes are characterized by a number of attributes: Process ownership, customer focus, value adding, and cross-functionality.
The role of information technology
Information technology (IT) has historically played an important role in the reengineering concept. It is considered by some as a major enabler for new forms of working and collaborating within an organization and across organizational borders.
The early BPR literature, e.g. Hammer & Champy (1993), identified several so called disruptive technologies that were supposed to challenge traditional wisdom about how work should be performed.
Shared databases, making information available at many places Expert systems,
allowing generalists to perform specialist tasks Telecommunication networks,
allowing organizations to be centralized and decentralized at the same time
Decision-support tools,
allowing decision-making to be a part of everybody's job
Wireless data communication and portable computers, allowing field personnel to work office independent Interactive videodisk,
to get in immediate contact with potential buyers Automatic identification and tracking,
allowing things to tell where they are, instead of requiring to be found High performance computing,
allowing on-the-fly planning and revisioning In the mid 1990s, especially workflow management systems were considered as a significant contributor to improved process efficiency.
Also ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, positioned their solutions as vehicles for business process redesign and improvement.
Methodology
Although the labels and steps differ slightly, the early methodologies that were rooted in IT-centric BPR solutions share many of the same basic principles and elements. The following outline is one such model, based on the PRLC (Process Reengineering Life Cycle) approach developed by Guha et.al. (1993).
Simplified schematic outline of using a business process approach, examplified for pharmceutical R&D:
1. Structural organization with functional units
2. Introduction of New Product Development as cross-functional process
3. Re-structuring and streamlining activities, removal of non-value adding tasksEnvision new processes
Secure management support
Identify reengineering opportunities
Identify enabling technologies
Align with corporate strategy
Initiating change
Set up reengineering team
Outline performance goals
Process diagnosis
Describe existing processes
Uncover pathologies in existing processes
Process redesign
Develop alternative process scenarios
Develop new process design
Design HR architecture
Select IT platform
Develop overall blueprint and gather feedback
Reconstruction
Develop/install IT solution
Establish process changes
Process monitoring
Performance measurement, including time, quality, cost, IT performance
Link to continuous improvement
Benefiting from lessons learned from the early adopters, some BPR practitioners advocated a change in emphasis to a customer-centric, as opposed to an IT-centric, methodology.
One such methodology, that also incorporated a Risk and Impact Assessment to account for the impact that BPR can have on jobs and operations, was described by Lon Roberts (1994). Roberts also stressed the use of change management tools to proactively address resistance to change—a factor linked to the demise of many reengineering initiatives that looked good on the drawing board.
Also within the management consulting industry, a significant number of methodological approaches have been developed. A set of short papers, outlining and comparing some of them can be found here, followed by some guidelines for companies considering to contract a consultancy for a BPR initiative:
Overview
Andersen Consulting (now Accenture)
Bain & Co.
Boston Consulting Group
McKinsey & Co.
Comparison
Guidelines for BPR consulting clients
Successes
This article or section is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view. For blatant advertising that would require a fundamental rewrite to become encyclopedic, use {{db-spam}} to mark for speedy deletion. (April 2008)
BPR, if implemented properly, can give huge returns. BPR has helped giants like Procter and Gamble Corporation and General Motors Corporation succeed after financial drawbacks due to competition.
It helped American Airlines somewhat get back on track from the bad debt that is currently haunting their business practice. BPR is about the proper method of implementation.
General Motors Corporation implemented a 3-year plan to consolidate their multiple desktop systems into one. It is known internally as "Consistent Office Environment" (Booker, 1994).
This reengineering process involved replacing the numerous brands of desktop systems, network operating systems and application development tools into a more manageable number of vendors and technology platforms. According to Donald G. Hedeen, director of desktops and deployment at GM and manager of the upgrade program, he says that the process "lays the foundation for the implementation of a common business communication strategy across General Motors." (Booker, 1994).
Lotus Development Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Development Company, formerly Compaq Computer Corporation, received the single largest non-government sales ever from General Motors Corporation. GM also planned to use Novell NetWare as a security client, Microsoft Office and Hewlett-Packard printers.
According to Donald G. Hedeen, this saved GM 10% to 25% on support costs, 3% to 5% on hardware, 40% to 60% on software licensing fees, and increased efficiency by overcoming incompatibility issues by using just one platform across the entire company.
Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of DELL Incorporated, which has been in business since 1983 and has been the world's fastest growing major PC Company. Michael Dell's idea of a successful business is to keep the smallest inventory possible by having a direct link with the manufacturer.
When a customer places an order, the custom parts requested by the customer are automatically sent to the manufacturer for shipment. This reduces the cost for inventory tracking and massive warehouse maintenance.
Dell's website is noted for bringing in nearly "$10 million each day in sales."(Smith, 1999). Michael Dell mentions: "If you have a good strategy with sound economics, the real challenge is to get people excited about what you're doing.
A lot of businesses get off track because they don't communicate an excitement about being part of a winning team that can achieve big goals. If a company can't motivate its people and it doesn't have a clear compass, it will drift." (Smith, 1999) Dell's stocks have been ranked as the top stock for the decade of the 1990s, when it had a return of 57,282% (Knestout and Ramage, 1999).
Michael Dell is now concentrating more on customer service than selling computers since the PC market price has pretty much equalized. Michael Dell notes: "The new frontier in our industry is service, which is a much greater differentiator when price has been equalized.
In our industry, there's been a pretty huge gap between what customers want in service and what they can get, so they've come to expect mediocre service. We may be the best in this area, but we can still improve quite a bit—in the quality of the product, the availability of parts, service and delivery time." (Smith, 1999) Michael Dell understands the concept of BPR and really recognizes where and when to reengineer his business.
Ford reengineered their business and manufacturing process from just manufacturing cars to manufacturing quality cars, where the number one goal is quality. This helped Ford save millions on recalls and warranty repairs. Ford has accomplished this goal by incorporating barcodes on all their parts and scanners to scan for any missing parts in a completed car coming off of the assembly line.
This helped them guarantee a safe and quality car. They have also implemented Voice-over-IP (VoIP) to reduce the cost of having meetings between the branches.
A multi-billion dollar corporation like Procter and Gamble Corporation, which carries 300 brands and growing really has a strong grasp in re-engineering. Procter and Gamble Corporation's chief technology officer, G. Gil Cloyd, explains how a company which carries multiple brands has to contend with the "classic innovator's dilemma — most innovations fail, but companies that don't innovate die.
His solution, innovating innovation..." (Teresko, 2004). Cloyd has helped a company like Procter and Gamble grow to $5.1 billion by the fiscal year of 2004. According to Cloyd's scorecard, he was able to raise the volume by 17%, the organic volume by 10%, sales are at $51.4 billion up by 19%, with organic sales up 8%, earnings are at $6.5 billion up 25% and share earnings up 25%.
Procter and Gamble also has a free cash flow of $7.3 billion or 113% of earnings, dividends up 13% annually with a total shareholder return of 24%. Cloyd states: "The challenge we face is the competitive need for a very rapid pace of innovation.
In the consumer products world, we estimate that the required pace of innovation has double in the last three years. Digital technology is very important in helping us to learn faster." (Teresko, 2004) G. Gil Cloyd also predicts, in the near future, "as much as 90% of P&G's R&D will be done in a virtual world with the remainder being physical validation of results and options." (Teresko, 2004).
Critique
The most frequent and harsh critique against BPR concerns the strict focus on efficiency and technology and the disregard of people in the organization that is subjected to a reengineering initiative. Very often, the label BPR was used for major workforce reductions. Thomas Davenport, an early BPR proponent, stated that
"When I wrote about "business process redesign" in 1990, I explicitly said that using it for cost reduction alone was not a sensible goal. And consultants Michael Hammer and James Champy, the two names most closely associated with reengineering, have insisted all along that layoffs shouldn't be the point. But the fact is, once out of the bottle, the reengineering genie quickly turned ugly." (Davenport, 1995)
Michael Hammer similarly admitted that
"I wasn't smart enough about that. I was reflecting my engineering background and was insufficient appreciative of the human dimension. I've learned that's critical." (White, 1996)
Other criticism brought forward against the BPR concept include
lack of management support for the initiative and thus poor acceptance in the organization.
exaggerated expectations regarding the potential benefits from a BPR initiative and consequently failure to achieve the expected results.
underestimation of the resistance to change within the organization.
implementation of generic so-called best-practice processes that do not fit specific company needs.
overtrust in technology solutions.
performing BPR as a one-off project with limited strategy alignment and long-term perspective.
poor project management.
Development after 1995
With the publication of critiques in 1995 and 1996 by some of the early BPR proponents, coupled with abuses and misuses of the concept by others, the reengineering fervor in the U.S. began to wane. Since then, considering business processes as a starting point for business analysis and redesign has become a widely accepted approach and is a standard part of the change methodology portfolio, but is typically performed in a less radical way as originally proposed.
More recently, the concept of Business Process Management (BPM) has gained major attention in the corporate world and can be considered as a successor to the BPR wave of the 1990s, as it is evenly driven by a striving for process efficiency supported by information technology. Equivalently to the critique brought forward against BPR, BPM is now accused of focusing on technology and disregarding the people aspects of change.
See also
Kaizen
Business Process Management
process improvement
workflow
Service-Oriented Modeling Framework (SOMF)
Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN)
External links
BPR Articles
Hammering Hammer (A Critical Analysis of Michael Hammer's Process Enterprise approach.)
BPR : Decision engineering in a strained industrial and business environment
Notes
Davenport, Thomas & Short, J. (1990), The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign, in: Sloan Management Review, Summer 1990, pp 11-27
Davenport, Thomas (1993), Process Innovation: Reengineering work through information technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston
Davenport, Thomas (1995), Reengineering - The Fad That Forgot People, Fast Company, November 1995.
Drucker, Peter (1972), Work and Tools, in: W. Kranzberg and W.H. Davenport (eds), Technology and Culture, New York
Greenbaum, Joan (1995), Windows on the workplace, Cornerstone
Guha, S.; Kettinger, W.J. & Teng, T.C., Business Process Reengineering: Building a Comprehensive Methodology, Information Systems Management, Summer 1993
Hammer, Michael (1990), Reengineering Work: Don’t automate, obliterate, Harvard Business Review, Jul/Aug 1990, pp 104-112
Hammer, Michael and Champy, James (1993), Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Harper Business Chapter 1 excerpt
Industry Week (1994), De-engineering the corporation, Industry Week article, 4/18/94
Johansson, Henry J. et.al. (1993), Business Process Reengineering: BreakPoint Strategies for Market Dominance, John Wiley & Sons
Leavitt, H.J. (1965), Applied Organizational Change in Industry: Structural, Technological and Humanistic Approaches, in: James March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations, Rand McNally, Chicago
Loyd, Tom (1994), Giants with Feet of Clay, Financial Times, Dec 5 1994, p 8
Malhotra, Yogesh (1998), Business Process Redesign: An Overview, IEEE Engineering Management Review, vol. 26, no. 3, Fall 1998.
Roberts, Lon (1994), Process Reengineering: The Key To Achieving Breakthrough Success, Quality Press, Milwaukee.
Taylor (1911), Frederick, The principles of scientific management, Harper & Row, New York
Thompson, James D. (1969), Organizations in Action, MacGraw-Hill, New York
White, JB (1996), Wall Street Journal. New York, N.Y.: Nov 26, 1996. pg. A.1
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_reengineering"
Categories: Business terms | Business process | Process management
Hidden categories: Articles needing additional references from August 2008 | Wikipedia articles needing style editing from April 2008 | All articles needing style editing
The Green Famine: Draught and Flood generated food insecurity
Home:Europe/World
UN warns of famine in EthiopiaPublished: Tuesday, 2 September, 2008, 10:37 AM Doha Time
Two residents haul a 50kg sack of wheat outside a food distribution centre in the southern Ethiopian town of Boricha
ARBA MINCH, Ethiopia: The top UN aid official, John Holmes, yesterday called for greater international efforts to help millions of Ethiopians suffering from a severe drought.
Some 8mn people need urgent food relief and another 4.6mn need emergency assistance, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“The response has been good in some ways, but we have a long way to go,” said Holmes on his way to a southern Ethiopian region devastated by the drought.
The lack of rain in the main February to April wet season has left at least 75,000 Ethiopian children under age five at risk from malnutrition, OCHA said.
“In terms of the urgency of the food crisis, the risk of children dying of severe malnutrition is the most urgent,” Holmes said as he started a three-day visit.
The UN appealed in June for $325mn, mainly for drought victims. Only 52% of the appeal has been met.
Holmes visited the Southern Nationalities and People’s Region in the south and will tour today the Somali region in the southeast.
In Arba Minch, some 500km south of the capital, the aid chief visited farmers, a feeding centre and food distribution centre.
Stunted and withered maize farms flanked the dusty road to Sorobo village - whose residents have depended on relief aid for the past three decades - and where Holmes met local farmers.
“I have lost three previous harvests and hoped that this one would produce yield, but it hasn’t. I’m now waiting for emergency support to feed my family,” said 38-year-old farmer Kuse Gelebo as he slashed down withered maize stalks.
Holmes said relief operations were underway, “but we need to make sure it reaches everyone.”
“We need to make sure that it (food shortages) doesn’t degenerate into a famine that we’ve seen before,” he told reporters at a local school.
The UN Children’s Fund representative in the impoverished African country said the effects of the failed rains and rampant food inflation may drag on.
“The previous rains failed badly. It is very clear that many people in Ethiopia will continue to face problems in terms of food security,” said official Bjorn Ljungqvist.
The southern region of Oromiya has also been badly hit, 6,700 children were diagnosed as suffering from severe malnutrition in early August.
Ethiopia suffered severe floods last year which destroyed most of the food crop. This year the drought has worsened the situation and food prices have soared 330%.
Unlike Sorobo, late rains in August have returned some greenery in Boricha, another town in southern Ethiopia, but the green maize fields belie the suffering of 200,000 residents eking out a living on dwindling reserves.
“It is very confusing. It is very green but you have people dying,” said Gemma Difilippo, a nurse at a local clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
Tens of thousands of Boricha residents queue regularly for relief food at distribution sites. Of the 45,000 locals in need of food, only 38,000 are receiving help due to low government supplies, according to aid groups.
Soaring commodity prices have worsened the crisis.
In May, the World Food Programme said the price of staples such as maize and sorghum had increased by 83 and 89% respectively in less than a year, while wheat increased by 54% between September 2007 and February 2008.
In recent years, Ethiopia has suffered alternate flood and drought disasters that has affected millions of people. – AFP
UN warns of famine in EthiopiaPublished: Tuesday, 2 September, 2008, 10:37 AM Doha Time
Two residents haul a 50kg sack of wheat outside a food distribution centre in the southern Ethiopian town of Boricha
ARBA MINCH, Ethiopia: The top UN aid official, John Holmes, yesterday called for greater international efforts to help millions of Ethiopians suffering from a severe drought.
Some 8mn people need urgent food relief and another 4.6mn need emergency assistance, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“The response has been good in some ways, but we have a long way to go,” said Holmes on his way to a southern Ethiopian region devastated by the drought.
The lack of rain in the main February to April wet season has left at least 75,000 Ethiopian children under age five at risk from malnutrition, OCHA said.
“In terms of the urgency of the food crisis, the risk of children dying of severe malnutrition is the most urgent,” Holmes said as he started a three-day visit.
The UN appealed in June for $325mn, mainly for drought victims. Only 52% of the appeal has been met.
Holmes visited the Southern Nationalities and People’s Region in the south and will tour today the Somali region in the southeast.
In Arba Minch, some 500km south of the capital, the aid chief visited farmers, a feeding centre and food distribution centre.
Stunted and withered maize farms flanked the dusty road to Sorobo village - whose residents have depended on relief aid for the past three decades - and where Holmes met local farmers.
“I have lost three previous harvests and hoped that this one would produce yield, but it hasn’t. I’m now waiting for emergency support to feed my family,” said 38-year-old farmer Kuse Gelebo as he slashed down withered maize stalks.
Holmes said relief operations were underway, “but we need to make sure it reaches everyone.”
“We need to make sure that it (food shortages) doesn’t degenerate into a famine that we’ve seen before,” he told reporters at a local school.
The UN Children’s Fund representative in the impoverished African country said the effects of the failed rains and rampant food inflation may drag on.
“The previous rains failed badly. It is very clear that many people in Ethiopia will continue to face problems in terms of food security,” said official Bjorn Ljungqvist.
The southern region of Oromiya has also been badly hit, 6,700 children were diagnosed as suffering from severe malnutrition in early August.
Ethiopia suffered severe floods last year which destroyed most of the food crop. This year the drought has worsened the situation and food prices have soared 330%.
Unlike Sorobo, late rains in August have returned some greenery in Boricha, another town in southern Ethiopia, but the green maize fields belie the suffering of 200,000 residents eking out a living on dwindling reserves.
“It is very confusing. It is very green but you have people dying,” said Gemma Difilippo, a nurse at a local clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders).
Tens of thousands of Boricha residents queue regularly for relief food at distribution sites. Of the 45,000 locals in need of food, only 38,000 are receiving help due to low government supplies, according to aid groups.
Soaring commodity prices have worsened the crisis.
In May, the World Food Programme said the price of staples such as maize and sorghum had increased by 83 and 89% respectively in less than a year, while wheat increased by 54% between September 2007 and February 2008.
In recent years, Ethiopia has suffered alternate flood and drought disasters that has affected millions of people. – AFP
Memorializing Victims of Communism at Washingtno Mall, a possiblity?
Dear Patriotic Global Citizens and Friends of Ethiopia:
Re: Memorializing Victims of Demonic Communist Terror is a welcome development:
I was rather suprisingly delighted when I found this news. A potential Ethiopian Communism Memorial at the Washington Mall.
This is a long awaited memorial, as the children and cadres of the Communist Junta are holding the Ethiopian Diaspora Community hostage with their hate mongering and even terrorizing business communities with their daily radio show at Fox Radio: WMET 1160 AM, 17:00 to 18:00 every day and weekends on WUST Radio 1120 am from 11:00 am to 23:00 hrs Saturday and Sunday.
It is critical to remind the public and the US Government and security appratus that the Communists Cadres in Washington DC who were given refugee status with misrepresentation of their status,i.e claiming being victims when they are the arcitects of the Red and White Terror for over 30 years, etc...and are out again in their terrorist activities.
This is a long awaited memorial. However the lesson and the real question is Have we learned from the past and are we currently being made victims by the same group who have reorganized themsleves around the world with their headquarters in Washington DC.
This memorial will give us the opportunity to alert the American Home Land Security and authors of Patriotic Act in Congress....about the challenges facing the Diaspora communities in the US and across the world. A second set of emosional, psychological and economic terror in the free world! I cannot believe it, but it is happening. A community known for its quiet and deligent efforts to integrate with American way of life...hard work and abiding by the law is being terorized by these new breed of vulgar terrorists.
Here is the advertisement of the Communist Memorial at the Mall
Welcome to Ethiopian Communism and Fascism Holocaust Museum Homepage
In 1993, President Clinton signed Public Law 103-199, authorizing a memorial in Washington to those who died in the ``unprecedented imperial Communist holocaust'' that began in 1917.
It is a memorial long overdue. And it is well-suited to Washington, the capital of the Free World and the headquarters of what President Kennedy called the ``long twilight struggle'' against the totalitarians of the Left.
See TO THE VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM, LEST WE FORGET, Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, December 7, 1995
Red Terror:The campaign of terror unleashed by the Derg (q.v.) in response to the urban guerrilla warfare--the so-called White Terror--of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and later of other leftist civilian opponents of the Derg, such as the All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement.
Beginning in February 1977, untold thousands of mostly young people were jailed, tortured, and killed before the Red Terror had run its course by early 1978. (Library of Congress) Search Ethiopia: Library of Congress
Include word variantsUse only words as entered.
Museum of Communism FAQ
Freedom's Nest
THE HORN, THE COLD WAR, AND DOCUMENTS FROM THE FORMER EAST-BLOC: AN ETHIOPIAN VIEW
Library of Congress/Country Studies:Ethiopia
News articles about the Red Terror
Ethiopia court hears officials drove over corpses
Testimonials
Coming soon...
Human Rights Reports
Human Rights Watch World Report 1998
Human Rights Watch World Report 1999
Victims of Red-Terror Memorial Web-Site
Please comment,inform us about sources of information or even your own story. This site is dedicated to victims of Red Terror and Itallian Invasions. Please help us build this site so that the past will never be repeated again. Email: gutaye@ncat.edu
Here is a glimse of the current situation
Human Rights Abuse Against Academics and Students
The sensless War Exteremely Graphic
Concentration Camp
Rudy Rummel's Site: Power Kills
Rings of Tear
Power Kills
Home >> Country Studies >> Ethiopia Find in Federal Research Division Pages Researchers Web Pages All Library of Congress Pages
A Country Study: Ethiopia
Library of Congress Call Number DT373 .E83 1993
Ethiopia
Acknowledgments
Preface
Country Profile - Visit new updated Profile (PDF)
Country
Geography
Society
Economy
Transportation and Communications
Government and Politics
National Security
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Historical Setting (John W. Turner)
Origins and the Early Periods
Early Populations and Neighboring States
The Aksumite State
Ethiopia and the Early Islamic Period
The Zagwe Dynasty
The "Restoration" of the "Solomonic" Line
Amhara Ascendancy
The Trials of the Christian Kingdom and the Decline of Imperial Power
Growth of Regional Muslim States
Oromo Migrations and Their Impact
Contact with European Christendom
The Making of Modern Ethiopia
The Reestablishment of the Ethiopian Monarchy
From Tewodros II to Menelik II, 1855-89
The Reign of Menelik II, 1889-1913
The Interregnum
Haile Selassie: The Prewar Period, 1930-36
Italian Rule and World War II
Italian Administration in Eritrea
Mussolini's Invasion and the Italian Occupation
Ethiopia in World War II
The Postwar Period, 1945-60: Reform and Opposition
Change and Resistance
Administrative Change and the 1955 Constitution
The Attempted Coup of 1960 and Its Aftermath
Growth of Secessionist Threats
The Liberation Struggle in Eritrea
Discontent in Tigray
The Ogaden and the Haud
Revolution and Military Government
Background to Revolution, 1960-74
The Establishment of the Derg
The Struggle for Power, 1974-77
Ethiopia's Road to Socialism
The Mengistu Regime and Its Impact
Political Struggles Within the Government
War in the Ogaden and the Turn to the Soviet Union
Eritrean and Tigrayan Insurgencies
Social and Political Changes
Ethiopia in Crisis: Famine and Its Aftermath,1984-88
Famine and Economic Collapse
Government Defeats in Eritrea and Tigray
The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Changes in Soviet Policy and New International Horizons
Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment (Yohannis Abate)
Physical Setting
Boundaries: International and Administrative
Topography and Drainage
Climate
Population
Size, Distribution, and Growth
Urbanization
Resettlement and Villagization
Refugees, Drought, and Famine
Ethiopia's Peoples
Ethnic Groups, Ethnicity, and Language
Ethio-Semitic Language Groups
Cushitic Language Groups
Omotic Language Groups
Nilo-Saharan Language Groups
Occupational Castes
Ethnic and Social Relations
Interethnic Relations
Social Relations
Social System
Rural Society
Urban Society
The Role of Women
Religious Life
Demography and Geography of Religious Affiliation
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
Organization of the Church and the Clergy
Faith and Practice
Islam
Basic Teachings of Islam
Local Character of Belief and Practice
Indigenous Religions
Foreign Missions
Education
Education During Imperial Rule
Primary and Secondary Education since 1975
Higher and Vocational Education since 1975
Literacy
Foreign Educational Assistance
Health and Welfare
Chapter 3 - The Economy (Mulatu Wubneh)
Growth and Structure of the Economy
Developments up to l974
Postrevolution Period
Role of Government
The Budgetary Process
Revenue and Expenditures
Banking and Monetary Policy
Labor Force
Unemployment
Labor Unions
Wages and Prices
Agriculture
Land Use and Land Reform
Land Use
Land Reform
Government Rural Programs
Peasant Associations and Rural Devlopment
Cooperatives and State Farms
Resettlement and Villagization
Agricultural Production
Major Cash Crops
Major Staple Crops
Livestock
Fishing
Forestry
Government Marketing Operations
Industry and Energy
Manufacturing
Industrial Development Policy
Energy Resources
Mining
Transportation and Telecommunications
Roads
Railroads
Ports
Air Transport
Telecommunications
Foreign Trade
Exports
Imports
Balance of Payments and Foreign Assistance
Economic Prospects
Chapter 4 - Government and Politics (Edmond J. Keller)
The Workers' Party of Ethiopia
Toward Party Formation
The Vanguard Party
The 1987 Constitution
The Social Order
Citizenship, Freedoms, Rights, and Duties
National Shengo (National Assembly)
Council of State
The President
Council of Ministers
Judicial System
Regional and Local Government
Regional Administration
Peasant Associations
Kebeles
Civil Service
The Politics of Development
The Politics of Drought and Famine
The Politics of Resettlement
The Politics of Villagization
Political Dynamics
Political Participation and Repression
The Eritrean Movement
Eritrea and the Imperial Regime
Eritrea and the Mengistu Regime
The Tigrayan Movement
Other Movements and Fronts
Oromo Groups
Afar Groups
Somali Groups
Leftist Groups
Regime Stability and Peace Negotiations
Mass Media
Foreign Policy
Diplomacy and State Building in Imperial Ethiopia
The Foreign Policy of the Derg
The Derg, the Soviet Union, and the Communist World
The Derg and the West
Ethiopia's Border Politics
Addis Ababa and the Middle East
The Demise of the Military Government
Chapter 5 - National Security (Thomas P. Ofcansky)
Military Tradition in National Life
The Armed Forces
The 1987 Constitution and the Armed Forces
Command and Force Structure
Army
Air Force
Navy
People's Militia
Training
Morale and Discipline
Manpower Considerations
Defense Costs
Foreign Military Assistance
United States
Soviet Union
Cuba
East Germany
North Korea
Israel
External and Internal Opponents
The Eritreans
The Tigray
The Oromo
The Somali
Public Order and Internal Security
The National Police
People's Protection Brigades
Crime and Punishment
The Legal System
Prisons
Human Rights
Appendix. Tables
Bibliography
Glossary
Re: Memorializing Victims of Demonic Communist Terror is a welcome development:
I was rather suprisingly delighted when I found this news. A potential Ethiopian Communism Memorial at the Washington Mall.
This is a long awaited memorial, as the children and cadres of the Communist Junta are holding the Ethiopian Diaspora Community hostage with their hate mongering and even terrorizing business communities with their daily radio show at Fox Radio: WMET 1160 AM, 17:00 to 18:00 every day and weekends on WUST Radio 1120 am from 11:00 am to 23:00 hrs Saturday and Sunday.
It is critical to remind the public and the US Government and security appratus that the Communists Cadres in Washington DC who were given refugee status with misrepresentation of their status,i.e claiming being victims when they are the arcitects of the Red and White Terror for over 30 years, etc...and are out again in their terrorist activities.
This is a long awaited memorial. However the lesson and the real question is Have we learned from the past and are we currently being made victims by the same group who have reorganized themsleves around the world with their headquarters in Washington DC.
This memorial will give us the opportunity to alert the American Home Land Security and authors of Patriotic Act in Congress....about the challenges facing the Diaspora communities in the US and across the world. A second set of emosional, psychological and economic terror in the free world! I cannot believe it, but it is happening. A community known for its quiet and deligent efforts to integrate with American way of life...hard work and abiding by the law is being terorized by these new breed of vulgar terrorists.
Here is the advertisement of the Communist Memorial at the Mall
Welcome to Ethiopian Communism and Fascism Holocaust Museum Homepage
In 1993, President Clinton signed Public Law 103-199, authorizing a memorial in Washington to those who died in the ``unprecedented imperial Communist holocaust'' that began in 1917.
It is a memorial long overdue. And it is well-suited to Washington, the capital of the Free World and the headquarters of what President Kennedy called the ``long twilight struggle'' against the totalitarians of the Left.
See TO THE VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM, LEST WE FORGET, Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, December 7, 1995
Red Terror:The campaign of terror unleashed by the Derg (q.v.) in response to the urban guerrilla warfare--the so-called White Terror--of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and later of other leftist civilian opponents of the Derg, such as the All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement.
Beginning in February 1977, untold thousands of mostly young people were jailed, tortured, and killed before the Red Terror had run its course by early 1978. (Library of Congress) Search Ethiopia: Library of Congress
Include word variantsUse only words as entered.
Museum of Communism FAQ
Freedom's Nest
THE HORN, THE COLD WAR, AND DOCUMENTS FROM THE FORMER EAST-BLOC: AN ETHIOPIAN VIEW
Library of Congress/Country Studies:Ethiopia
News articles about the Red Terror
Ethiopia court hears officials drove over corpses
Testimonials
Coming soon...
Human Rights Reports
Human Rights Watch World Report 1998
Human Rights Watch World Report 1999
Victims of Red-Terror Memorial Web-Site
Please comment,inform us about sources of information or even your own story. This site is dedicated to victims of Red Terror and Itallian Invasions. Please help us build this site so that the past will never be repeated again. Email: gutaye@ncat.edu
Here is a glimse of the current situation
Human Rights Abuse Against Academics and Students
The sensless War Exteremely Graphic
Concentration Camp
Rudy Rummel's Site: Power Kills
Rings of Tear
Power Kills
Home >> Country Studies >> Ethiopia Find in Federal Research Division Pages Researchers Web Pages All Library of Congress Pages
A Country Study: Ethiopia
Library of Congress Call Number DT373 .E83 1993
Ethiopia
Acknowledgments
Preface
Country Profile - Visit new updated Profile (PDF)
Country
Geography
Society
Economy
Transportation and Communications
Government and Politics
National Security
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Historical Setting (John W. Turner)
Origins and the Early Periods
Early Populations and Neighboring States
The Aksumite State
Ethiopia and the Early Islamic Period
The Zagwe Dynasty
The "Restoration" of the "Solomonic" Line
Amhara Ascendancy
The Trials of the Christian Kingdom and the Decline of Imperial Power
Growth of Regional Muslim States
Oromo Migrations and Their Impact
Contact with European Christendom
The Making of Modern Ethiopia
The Reestablishment of the Ethiopian Monarchy
From Tewodros II to Menelik II, 1855-89
The Reign of Menelik II, 1889-1913
The Interregnum
Haile Selassie: The Prewar Period, 1930-36
Italian Rule and World War II
Italian Administration in Eritrea
Mussolini's Invasion and the Italian Occupation
Ethiopia in World War II
The Postwar Period, 1945-60: Reform and Opposition
Change and Resistance
Administrative Change and the 1955 Constitution
The Attempted Coup of 1960 and Its Aftermath
Growth of Secessionist Threats
The Liberation Struggle in Eritrea
Discontent in Tigray
The Ogaden and the Haud
Revolution and Military Government
Background to Revolution, 1960-74
The Establishment of the Derg
The Struggle for Power, 1974-77
Ethiopia's Road to Socialism
The Mengistu Regime and Its Impact
Political Struggles Within the Government
War in the Ogaden and the Turn to the Soviet Union
Eritrean and Tigrayan Insurgencies
Social and Political Changes
Ethiopia in Crisis: Famine and Its Aftermath,1984-88
Famine and Economic Collapse
Government Defeats in Eritrea and Tigray
The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Changes in Soviet Policy and New International Horizons
Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment (Yohannis Abate)
Physical Setting
Boundaries: International and Administrative
Topography and Drainage
Climate
Population
Size, Distribution, and Growth
Urbanization
Resettlement and Villagization
Refugees, Drought, and Famine
Ethiopia's Peoples
Ethnic Groups, Ethnicity, and Language
Ethio-Semitic Language Groups
Cushitic Language Groups
Omotic Language Groups
Nilo-Saharan Language Groups
Occupational Castes
Ethnic and Social Relations
Interethnic Relations
Social Relations
Social System
Rural Society
Urban Society
The Role of Women
Religious Life
Demography and Geography of Religious Affiliation
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
Organization of the Church and the Clergy
Faith and Practice
Islam
Basic Teachings of Islam
Local Character of Belief and Practice
Indigenous Religions
Foreign Missions
Education
Education During Imperial Rule
Primary and Secondary Education since 1975
Higher and Vocational Education since 1975
Literacy
Foreign Educational Assistance
Health and Welfare
Chapter 3 - The Economy (Mulatu Wubneh)
Growth and Structure of the Economy
Developments up to l974
Postrevolution Period
Role of Government
The Budgetary Process
Revenue and Expenditures
Banking and Monetary Policy
Labor Force
Unemployment
Labor Unions
Wages and Prices
Agriculture
Land Use and Land Reform
Land Use
Land Reform
Government Rural Programs
Peasant Associations and Rural Devlopment
Cooperatives and State Farms
Resettlement and Villagization
Agricultural Production
Major Cash Crops
Major Staple Crops
Livestock
Fishing
Forestry
Government Marketing Operations
Industry and Energy
Manufacturing
Industrial Development Policy
Energy Resources
Mining
Transportation and Telecommunications
Roads
Railroads
Ports
Air Transport
Telecommunications
Foreign Trade
Exports
Imports
Balance of Payments and Foreign Assistance
Economic Prospects
Chapter 4 - Government and Politics (Edmond J. Keller)
The Workers' Party of Ethiopia
Toward Party Formation
The Vanguard Party
The 1987 Constitution
The Social Order
Citizenship, Freedoms, Rights, and Duties
National Shengo (National Assembly)
Council of State
The President
Council of Ministers
Judicial System
Regional and Local Government
Regional Administration
Peasant Associations
Kebeles
Civil Service
The Politics of Development
The Politics of Drought and Famine
The Politics of Resettlement
The Politics of Villagization
Political Dynamics
Political Participation and Repression
The Eritrean Movement
Eritrea and the Imperial Regime
Eritrea and the Mengistu Regime
The Tigrayan Movement
Other Movements and Fronts
Oromo Groups
Afar Groups
Somali Groups
Leftist Groups
Regime Stability and Peace Negotiations
Mass Media
Foreign Policy
Diplomacy and State Building in Imperial Ethiopia
The Foreign Policy of the Derg
The Derg, the Soviet Union, and the Communist World
The Derg and the West
Ethiopia's Border Politics
Addis Ababa and the Middle East
The Demise of the Military Government
Chapter 5 - National Security (Thomas P. Ofcansky)
Military Tradition in National Life
The Armed Forces
The 1987 Constitution and the Armed Forces
Command and Force Structure
Army
Air Force
Navy
People's Militia
Training
Morale and Discipline
Manpower Considerations
Defense Costs
Foreign Military Assistance
United States
Soviet Union
Cuba
East Germany
North Korea
Israel
External and Internal Opponents
The Eritreans
The Tigray
The Oromo
The Somali
Public Order and Internal Security
The National Police
People's Protection Brigades
Crime and Punishment
The Legal System
Prisons
Human Rights
Appendix. Tables
Bibliography
Glossary
Monday, September 1, 2008
We take better care of our cars better than our body
Inequities are killing people on a "grand scale" reports WHO's Commission
28 August 2008 | GENEVA --
A child born in a Glasgow, Scotland suburb can expect a life 28 years shorter than another living only 13 kilometres away.
A girl in Lesotho is likely to live 42 years less than another in Japan.
In Sweden, the risk of a woman dying during pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 17 400; in Afghanistan, the odds are 1 in 8.
Biology does not explain any of this. Instead, the differences between - and within - countries result from the social environment where people are born, live, grow, work and age.
Related links
The Report and background material
Executive summary [pdf 5.34Mb]
More about the Commission
These "social determinants of health" have been the focus of a three-year investigation by an eminent group of policy makers, academics, former heads of state and former ministers of health. Together, they comprise the World Health Organization' s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Today, the Commission presents its findings to the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan.
"(The) toxic combination of bad policies, economics, and politics is, in large measure responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not enjoy the good health that is biologically possible," the Commissioners write in Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. "Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale."
"Health inequity really is a matter of life and death," said Dr Chan today while welcoming the Report and congratulating the Commission. "But health systems will not naturally gravitate towards equity. Unprecedented leadership is needed that compels all actors, including those beyond the health sector, to examine their impact on health. Primary health care, which integrates health in all of government's policies, is the best framework for doing so."
Sir Michael Marmot, Commission Chair said: “Central to the Commission’s recommendations is creating the conditions for people to be empowered, to have freedom to lead flourishing lives. Nowhere is lack of empowerment more obvious than in the plight of women in many parts of the world. Health suffers as a result. Following our recommendations would dramatically improve the health and life chances of billions of people.”
Inequities within countries
Health inequities – unfair, unjust and avoidable causes of ill health – have long been measured between countries but the Commission documents "health gradients" within countries as well. For example:
Life expectancy for Indigenous Australian males is shorter by 17 years than all other Australian males.
Maternal mortality is 3–4 times higher among the poor compared to the rich in Indonesia. The difference in adult mortality between least and most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK is more than 2.5 times.
Child mortality in the slums of Nairobi is 2.5 times higher than in other parts of the city. A baby born to a Bolivian mother with no education has 10% chance of dying, while one born to a woman with at least secondary education has a 0.4% chance.
In the United States, 886 202 deaths would have been averted between 1991 and 2000 if mortality rates between white and African Americans were equalized. (This contrasts to 176 633 lives saved in the US by medical advances in the same period.)
In Uganda the death rate of children under 5 years in the richest fifth of households is 106 per 1000 live births but in the poorest fifth of households in Uganda it is even worse – 192 deaths per 1000 live births – that is nearly a fifth of all babies born alive to the poorest households destined to die before they reach their fifth birthday.
Set this against an average death rate for under fives in high income countries of 7 deaths per 1000.
The Commission found evidence that demonstrates in general the poor are worse off than those less deprived, but they also found that the less deprived are in turn worse than those with average incomes, and so on. This slope linking income and health is the social gradient, and is seen everywhere – not just in developing countries, but all countries, including the richest. The slope may be more or less steep in different countries, but the phenomenon is universal.
Wealth is not necessarily a determinant
Economic growth is raising incomes in many countries but increasing national wealth alone does not necessarily increase national health. Without equitable distribution of benefits, national growth can even exacerbate inequities.
While there has been enormous increase in global wealth, technology and living standards in recent years, the key question is how it is used for fair distribution of services and institution- building especially in low-income countries.
In 1980, the richest countries with 10% of the population had a gross national income 60 times that of the poorest countries with 10% of the world's population. After 25 years of globalization, this difference increased to 122, reports the Commission. Worse, in the last 15 years, the poorest quintile in many low-income countries have shown a declining share in national consumption.
Wealth alone does not have to determine the health of a nation's population. Some low-income countries such as Cuba, Costa Rica, China, state of Kerala in India and Sri Lanka have achieved levels of good health despite relatively low national incomes. But, the Commission points out, wealth can be wisely used.
Nordic countries, for example, have followed policies that encouraged equality of benefits and services, full employment, gender equity and low levels of social exclusion. This, said the Commission, is an outstanding example of what needs to be done everywhere.
Solutions from beyond the health sector
Much of the work to redress health inequities lies beyond the health sector. According to the Commission's report, "Water-borne diseases are not caused by a lack of antibiotics but by dirty water, and by the political, social, and economic forces that fail to make clean water available to all; heart disease is caused not by a lack of coronary care units but by lives people lead, which are shaped by the environments in which they live; obesity is not caused by moral failure on the part of individuals but by the excess availability of high-fat and high-sugar foods." Consequently, the health sector – globally and nationally – needs to focus attention on addressing the root causes of inequities in health.
“We rely too much on medical interventions as a way of increasing life expectancy” explained Sir Michael. “A more effective way of increasing life expectancy and improving health would be for every government policy and programme to be assessed for its impact on health and health equity; to make health and health equity a marker for government performance.”
Recommendations
Based on this compelling evidence, the Commission makes three overarching recommendations to tackle the "corrosive effects of inequality of life chances":
Improve daily living conditions, including the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.
Tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money and resources – the structural drivers of those conditions – globally, nationally and locally.
Measure and understand the problem and assess the impact of action.
Recommendations for daily living
Improving daily living conditions begins at the start of life. The Commission recommends that countries set up an interagency mechanism to ensure effective collaboration and coherent policy between all sectors for early childhood development, and aim to provide early childhood services to all of their young citizens.
Investing in early childhood development provides one of the best ways to reduce health inequities. Evidence shows that investment in the education of women pays for itself many times over.
Billions of people live without adequate shelter and clean water. The Commission's report pays particular attention to the increasing numbers of people who live in urban slums, and the impact of urban governance on health. The Commission joins other voices in calling for a renewed effort to ensure water, sanitation and electricity for all, as well as better urban planning to address the epidemic of chronic disease.
Health systems also have an important role to play. While the Commission report shows how the health sector can not reduce health inequities on its own, providing universal coverage and ensuring a focus on equity throughout health systems are important steps.
The report also highlights how over 100 million people are impoverished due to paying for health care – a key contributor to health inequity. The Commission thus calls for health systems to be based on principles of equity, disease prevention and health promotion with universal coverage, based on primary health care.
Distribution of resources
Enacting the recommendations of the Commission to improve daily living conditions will also require tackling the inequitable distribution of resources. This requires far-reaching and systematic action.
The report foregrounds a range of recommendations aimed at ensuring fair financing, corporate social responsibility, gender equity and better governance.
These include using health equity as an indicator of government performance and overall social development, the widespread use of health equity impact assessments, ensuring that rich countries honour their commitment to provide 0.7% of their GNP as aid, strengthening legislation to prohibit discrimination by gender and improving the capacity for all groups in society to participate in policy-making with space for civil society to work unencumbered to promote and protect political and social rights. At the global level, the Commission recommends that health equity should be a core development goal and that a social determinants of health framework should be used to monitor progress.
The Commission also highlights how implementing any of the above recommendations requires measurement of the existing problem of health inequity (where in many countries adequate data does not exist) and then monitoring the impact on health equity of the proposed interventions.
To do this will require firstly investing in basic vital registration systems which have seen limited progress in the last thirty years. There is also a great need for training of policy-makers, health workers and workers in other sectors to understand the need for and how to act on the social determinants of health.
While more research is needed, enough is known for policy makers to initiate action. The feasibility of action is indicated in the change that is already occurring. Egypt has shown a remarkable drop in child mortality from 235 to 33 per 1000 in 30 years. Greece and Portugal reduced their child mortality from 50 per 1000 births to levels nearly as low as Japan, Sweden, and Iceland. Cuba achieved more than 99% coverage of its child development services in 2000. But trends showing improved health are not foreordained. In fact, without attention health can decline rapidly.
Is this feasible?
The Commission has already inspired and supported action in many parts of the world. Brazil, Canada, Chile, Iran, Kenya, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the UK have become 'country partners' on the basis of their commitment to make progress on the social determinants of health equity and are already developing policies across governments to tackle them. These examples show that change is possible through political will. There is a long way to go, but the direction is set, say the Commissioners, the path clear.
WHO will now make the report available to Member States which will determine how the health agency is to respond.
Comments from the Commissioners
Fran Baum, Head of Department and Professor of Public Health at Flinders University, Foundation Director of the South Australian Community Health Research Unit and Co-Chair of the Global Coordinating Council of the People’s Health Movement: "It is wonderful to have global endorsement of the Australian Closing the Gap campaign from the CSDH established by the WHO.
The CSDH sets Closing the Gap as a goal for the whole world and produces the evidence on how health inequities are a reflection of the way we organize society and distribute power and resources. The good news from the CSDH for Australia is that it provides plenty of ideas on how to set an agenda that will tackle the underlying determinants of health and create a healthier Australia for all of us"
Monique Begin, Professor at the School of Management, University of Ottawa, Canada, twice-appointed Minister of National Health and Welfare and the first woman from Quebec elected to the House of Commons: "Canada likes to brag that for seven years in a row the United Nations voted us "the best country in the world in which to live".
Do all Canadians share equally in that great quality of life? No they don't. The truth is that our country is so wealthy that it manages to mask the reality of food banks in our cities, of unacceptable housing (1 in 5), of young Inuit adults very high suicide rates. This report is a wake up call for action towards truly living up to our reputation."
Giovanni Berlinguer, Member of the European Parliament, member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO (2001–2007) and rapporteur of the project Universal Declaration on Bioethics: "A fairer world will be a healthier world. A health service and medical interventions are just one of the factors that influence population health.
The growth of inequalities and the phenomena of increased injustice in health is present in low and middle income countries as well as across Europe. It would be a crime not to take every action possible to reduce them."
Mirai Chatterjee, Coordinator of Social Security for India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association, a trade union of over 900 000 self-employed women and recently appointed to the National Advisory Council and the National Commission for the Unorganised Sector: "The report suggests avenues for action from the local to national and global levels.
It has been eagerly awaited by policy-makers, health officials, grassroot activists and their community-based organizations. Much of the research and evidence is of particular relevance to the South-East Asian region, where too many people struggle daily for justice and equity in health. The report will inspire the region to act and develop new policies and programmes."
Yan Guo, Professor of Public Health and Vice-President of the Peking University Health Science Centre, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Rural Health Association and Vice-Director of the China Academy of Health Policy: “A man should not be concerned with whether he has enough possessions but whether possessions have been equally distributed”, this is a time-honored teaching in China. Constructing a harmonious society is our shared aspiration, and equity, including health equity, composes the prerequisite for a harmonious development.
Eliminating determinants that are adverse to health under the efforts from all of the society, promoting social justice, and advancing human health are our shared goals. Let’s join our hands in this grand course!”
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Member of the Science and Technology Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, formerly President of the Science Council of Japan and the Pacific Science Association: "The WHO Commission addresses one of the major issues of our global world - health inequity.
The report’s recommendations will be perceived, utilized and implemented as a major policy agenda at national and global levels. The issue will increase in importance as the general public become more engaged via civil society movements and multi-stakeholder involvement. "
Alireza Marandi, Professor of Pediatrics at Shaheed Beheshti University, Islamic Republic of Iran, former two-term Minister of Health and Medical Education, former Deputy Minister and Advisor to the Minister and recently elected to be a member of the Iranian Parliament: "According to the Islamic ideology, social justice became a priority, when the Islamic revolution materialized in Iran.
Establishing a solid Primary Health Care network in our country, not only improved our health statistics, but it was an excellent vehicle to move towards health equity. Now through the final report of the CSDH and implementing its recommendations we need to move much faster in our own country toward health equity."
Pascoal Mocumbi, High Representative of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Mozambique, former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health: "The Commission on Social Determinants of Health report will help African leaders adapt their national development strategies to address the challenges to health. These are derived from the current systemic changes taking place in the global economy that affects heavily on the poorest segments of Africa’s population."
Amartya Sen, Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998: "The primary object of development - for any country and for the world as a whole - is the elimination of 'unfreedoms' that reduce and impoverish the lives of people. Central to human deprivation is the failure of the capability to live long and healthy lives.
This is much more than a medical problem. It relates to handicaps that have deep social roots. Under Michael Marmot's leadership, this WHO Commission has concentrated on the badly neglected causal linkages that have to be adequately understood and remedied.
A fuller understanding is also a call for action."
David Satcher, Director of the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute Initiative, formerly the United States Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary for Health and also Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "The United States of America spends more on health care than any other country in the world, yet it ranks 41st in terms of life expectancy. New Orleans and its experience with Hurricane Katrina illustrate why we need to target social determinants of health (SDH) — including housing, education, working and learning conditions, and whether people are exposed to toxins—better than any place I can think of right now. By targeting the SDH, we can rapidly move towards closing the gap that unfairly and avoidably separates the health status of groups of different socio-economic status, social exclusion experience, and educational background."
Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and founding Chairperson of the independent Tanzanian National Women’s Council: "Health delivery is not possible for people living in squalor, in dehumanizing pathetic conditions prevailing in the ever growing slum settlements of cities and towns in developing countries. Investment in basic services such as water and education will always remain constrained if not wasted unless accompanied by requisite investment in decent housing with basic sanitation."
Denny Vågerö, Professor of Medical Sociology, Director of CHESS (Centre for Health Equity Studies) in Sweden, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and of its Standing Committee on Health: "Countries of the world are presently growing apart in health terms. This is very worrying. In many countries in the world social differences in health are also growing, and this is true in Europe. We have been one-sidedly focused on economic growth, disregarding negative consequences for health and climate. We need to think differently about development. "
Gail Wilensky, Senior Fellow at Project HOPE, an international health education foundation. Previously she directed the Medicare and Medicaid programmes in the United States and also chaired two commissions that advise the United States Congress on Medicare: "What this report makes clear is that improving health and health outcomes and reducing avoidable health differences—goals of all countries-- involves far more than just improving the health care system.
Basic living conditions, employment, early childhood education, treatment of women and poverty all impact on health outcomes and incorporating their effects on health outcomes needs to become an important part of public policymaking. This is as true for wealthy countries like the United States as it is for many of the emerging countries of the world, where large numbers of people live on less than $2 per day."
For more information or interviews, please contact:
Sharad Agarwal
Communications Officer
WHO, Geneva
Tel.: +41 22 791 1905
Mob.: +41 79 621 5286
Email: agarwals@who. int
Felicity Porritt
Head, Communications
CSDH, UCL Secretariat
London
Mob.: +44 773 941 9219
Email: felicity.porritt@ mac.com
28 August 2008 | GENEVA --
A child born in a Glasgow, Scotland suburb can expect a life 28 years shorter than another living only 13 kilometres away.
A girl in Lesotho is likely to live 42 years less than another in Japan.
In Sweden, the risk of a woman dying during pregnancy and childbirth is 1 in 17 400; in Afghanistan, the odds are 1 in 8.
Biology does not explain any of this. Instead, the differences between - and within - countries result from the social environment where people are born, live, grow, work and age.
Related links
The Report and background material
Executive summary [pdf 5.34Mb]
More about the Commission
These "social determinants of health" have been the focus of a three-year investigation by an eminent group of policy makers, academics, former heads of state and former ministers of health. Together, they comprise the World Health Organization' s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Today, the Commission presents its findings to the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan.
"(The) toxic combination of bad policies, economics, and politics is, in large measure responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not enjoy the good health that is biologically possible," the Commissioners write in Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. "Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale."
"Health inequity really is a matter of life and death," said Dr Chan today while welcoming the Report and congratulating the Commission. "But health systems will not naturally gravitate towards equity. Unprecedented leadership is needed that compels all actors, including those beyond the health sector, to examine their impact on health. Primary health care, which integrates health in all of government's policies, is the best framework for doing so."
Sir Michael Marmot, Commission Chair said: “Central to the Commission’s recommendations is creating the conditions for people to be empowered, to have freedom to lead flourishing lives. Nowhere is lack of empowerment more obvious than in the plight of women in many parts of the world. Health suffers as a result. Following our recommendations would dramatically improve the health and life chances of billions of people.”
Inequities within countries
Health inequities – unfair, unjust and avoidable causes of ill health – have long been measured between countries but the Commission documents "health gradients" within countries as well. For example:
Life expectancy for Indigenous Australian males is shorter by 17 years than all other Australian males.
Maternal mortality is 3–4 times higher among the poor compared to the rich in Indonesia. The difference in adult mortality between least and most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK is more than 2.5 times.
Child mortality in the slums of Nairobi is 2.5 times higher than in other parts of the city. A baby born to a Bolivian mother with no education has 10% chance of dying, while one born to a woman with at least secondary education has a 0.4% chance.
In the United States, 886 202 deaths would have been averted between 1991 and 2000 if mortality rates between white and African Americans were equalized. (This contrasts to 176 633 lives saved in the US by medical advances in the same period.)
In Uganda the death rate of children under 5 years in the richest fifth of households is 106 per 1000 live births but in the poorest fifth of households in Uganda it is even worse – 192 deaths per 1000 live births – that is nearly a fifth of all babies born alive to the poorest households destined to die before they reach their fifth birthday.
Set this against an average death rate for under fives in high income countries of 7 deaths per 1000.
The Commission found evidence that demonstrates in general the poor are worse off than those less deprived, but they also found that the less deprived are in turn worse than those with average incomes, and so on. This slope linking income and health is the social gradient, and is seen everywhere – not just in developing countries, but all countries, including the richest. The slope may be more or less steep in different countries, but the phenomenon is universal.
Wealth is not necessarily a determinant
Economic growth is raising incomes in many countries but increasing national wealth alone does not necessarily increase national health. Without equitable distribution of benefits, national growth can even exacerbate inequities.
While there has been enormous increase in global wealth, technology and living standards in recent years, the key question is how it is used for fair distribution of services and institution- building especially in low-income countries.
In 1980, the richest countries with 10% of the population had a gross national income 60 times that of the poorest countries with 10% of the world's population. After 25 years of globalization, this difference increased to 122, reports the Commission. Worse, in the last 15 years, the poorest quintile in many low-income countries have shown a declining share in national consumption.
Wealth alone does not have to determine the health of a nation's population. Some low-income countries such as Cuba, Costa Rica, China, state of Kerala in India and Sri Lanka have achieved levels of good health despite relatively low national incomes. But, the Commission points out, wealth can be wisely used.
Nordic countries, for example, have followed policies that encouraged equality of benefits and services, full employment, gender equity and low levels of social exclusion. This, said the Commission, is an outstanding example of what needs to be done everywhere.
Solutions from beyond the health sector
Much of the work to redress health inequities lies beyond the health sector. According to the Commission's report, "Water-borne diseases are not caused by a lack of antibiotics but by dirty water, and by the political, social, and economic forces that fail to make clean water available to all; heart disease is caused not by a lack of coronary care units but by lives people lead, which are shaped by the environments in which they live; obesity is not caused by moral failure on the part of individuals but by the excess availability of high-fat and high-sugar foods." Consequently, the health sector – globally and nationally – needs to focus attention on addressing the root causes of inequities in health.
“We rely too much on medical interventions as a way of increasing life expectancy” explained Sir Michael. “A more effective way of increasing life expectancy and improving health would be for every government policy and programme to be assessed for its impact on health and health equity; to make health and health equity a marker for government performance.”
Recommendations
Based on this compelling evidence, the Commission makes three overarching recommendations to tackle the "corrosive effects of inequality of life chances":
Improve daily living conditions, including the circumstances in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.
Tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money and resources – the structural drivers of those conditions – globally, nationally and locally.
Measure and understand the problem and assess the impact of action.
Recommendations for daily living
Improving daily living conditions begins at the start of life. The Commission recommends that countries set up an interagency mechanism to ensure effective collaboration and coherent policy between all sectors for early childhood development, and aim to provide early childhood services to all of their young citizens.
Investing in early childhood development provides one of the best ways to reduce health inequities. Evidence shows that investment in the education of women pays for itself many times over.
Billions of people live without adequate shelter and clean water. The Commission's report pays particular attention to the increasing numbers of people who live in urban slums, and the impact of urban governance on health. The Commission joins other voices in calling for a renewed effort to ensure water, sanitation and electricity for all, as well as better urban planning to address the epidemic of chronic disease.
Health systems also have an important role to play. While the Commission report shows how the health sector can not reduce health inequities on its own, providing universal coverage and ensuring a focus on equity throughout health systems are important steps.
The report also highlights how over 100 million people are impoverished due to paying for health care – a key contributor to health inequity. The Commission thus calls for health systems to be based on principles of equity, disease prevention and health promotion with universal coverage, based on primary health care.
Distribution of resources
Enacting the recommendations of the Commission to improve daily living conditions will also require tackling the inequitable distribution of resources. This requires far-reaching and systematic action.
The report foregrounds a range of recommendations aimed at ensuring fair financing, corporate social responsibility, gender equity and better governance.
These include using health equity as an indicator of government performance and overall social development, the widespread use of health equity impact assessments, ensuring that rich countries honour their commitment to provide 0.7% of their GNP as aid, strengthening legislation to prohibit discrimination by gender and improving the capacity for all groups in society to participate in policy-making with space for civil society to work unencumbered to promote and protect political and social rights. At the global level, the Commission recommends that health equity should be a core development goal and that a social determinants of health framework should be used to monitor progress.
The Commission also highlights how implementing any of the above recommendations requires measurement of the existing problem of health inequity (where in many countries adequate data does not exist) and then monitoring the impact on health equity of the proposed interventions.
To do this will require firstly investing in basic vital registration systems which have seen limited progress in the last thirty years. There is also a great need for training of policy-makers, health workers and workers in other sectors to understand the need for and how to act on the social determinants of health.
While more research is needed, enough is known for policy makers to initiate action. The feasibility of action is indicated in the change that is already occurring. Egypt has shown a remarkable drop in child mortality from 235 to 33 per 1000 in 30 years. Greece and Portugal reduced their child mortality from 50 per 1000 births to levels nearly as low as Japan, Sweden, and Iceland. Cuba achieved more than 99% coverage of its child development services in 2000. But trends showing improved health are not foreordained. In fact, without attention health can decline rapidly.
Is this feasible?
The Commission has already inspired and supported action in many parts of the world. Brazil, Canada, Chile, Iran, Kenya, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the UK have become 'country partners' on the basis of their commitment to make progress on the social determinants of health equity and are already developing policies across governments to tackle them. These examples show that change is possible through political will. There is a long way to go, but the direction is set, say the Commissioners, the path clear.
WHO will now make the report available to Member States which will determine how the health agency is to respond.
Comments from the Commissioners
Fran Baum, Head of Department and Professor of Public Health at Flinders University, Foundation Director of the South Australian Community Health Research Unit and Co-Chair of the Global Coordinating Council of the People’s Health Movement: "It is wonderful to have global endorsement of the Australian Closing the Gap campaign from the CSDH established by the WHO.
The CSDH sets Closing the Gap as a goal for the whole world and produces the evidence on how health inequities are a reflection of the way we organize society and distribute power and resources. The good news from the CSDH for Australia is that it provides plenty of ideas on how to set an agenda that will tackle the underlying determinants of health and create a healthier Australia for all of us"
Monique Begin, Professor at the School of Management, University of Ottawa, Canada, twice-appointed Minister of National Health and Welfare and the first woman from Quebec elected to the House of Commons: "Canada likes to brag that for seven years in a row the United Nations voted us "the best country in the world in which to live".
Do all Canadians share equally in that great quality of life? No they don't. The truth is that our country is so wealthy that it manages to mask the reality of food banks in our cities, of unacceptable housing (1 in 5), of young Inuit adults very high suicide rates. This report is a wake up call for action towards truly living up to our reputation."
Giovanni Berlinguer, Member of the European Parliament, member of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO (2001–2007) and rapporteur of the project Universal Declaration on Bioethics: "A fairer world will be a healthier world. A health service and medical interventions are just one of the factors that influence population health.
The growth of inequalities and the phenomena of increased injustice in health is present in low and middle income countries as well as across Europe. It would be a crime not to take every action possible to reduce them."
Mirai Chatterjee, Coordinator of Social Security for India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association, a trade union of over 900 000 self-employed women and recently appointed to the National Advisory Council and the National Commission for the Unorganised Sector: "The report suggests avenues for action from the local to national and global levels.
It has been eagerly awaited by policy-makers, health officials, grassroot activists and their community-based organizations. Much of the research and evidence is of particular relevance to the South-East Asian region, where too many people struggle daily for justice and equity in health. The report will inspire the region to act and develop new policies and programmes."
Yan Guo, Professor of Public Health and Vice-President of the Peking University Health Science Centre, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Rural Health Association and Vice-Director of the China Academy of Health Policy: “A man should not be concerned with whether he has enough possessions but whether possessions have been equally distributed”, this is a time-honored teaching in China. Constructing a harmonious society is our shared aspiration, and equity, including health equity, composes the prerequisite for a harmonious development.
Eliminating determinants that are adverse to health under the efforts from all of the society, promoting social justice, and advancing human health are our shared goals. Let’s join our hands in this grand course!”
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Member of the Science and Technology Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, formerly President of the Science Council of Japan and the Pacific Science Association: "The WHO Commission addresses one of the major issues of our global world - health inequity.
The report’s recommendations will be perceived, utilized and implemented as a major policy agenda at national and global levels. The issue will increase in importance as the general public become more engaged via civil society movements and multi-stakeholder involvement. "
Alireza Marandi, Professor of Pediatrics at Shaheed Beheshti University, Islamic Republic of Iran, former two-term Minister of Health and Medical Education, former Deputy Minister and Advisor to the Minister and recently elected to be a member of the Iranian Parliament: "According to the Islamic ideology, social justice became a priority, when the Islamic revolution materialized in Iran.
Establishing a solid Primary Health Care network in our country, not only improved our health statistics, but it was an excellent vehicle to move towards health equity. Now through the final report of the CSDH and implementing its recommendations we need to move much faster in our own country toward health equity."
Pascoal Mocumbi, High Representative of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Mozambique, former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health: "The Commission on Social Determinants of Health report will help African leaders adapt their national development strategies to address the challenges to health. These are derived from the current systemic changes taking place in the global economy that affects heavily on the poorest segments of Africa’s population."
Amartya Sen, Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998: "The primary object of development - for any country and for the world as a whole - is the elimination of 'unfreedoms' that reduce and impoverish the lives of people. Central to human deprivation is the failure of the capability to live long and healthy lives.
This is much more than a medical problem. It relates to handicaps that have deep social roots. Under Michael Marmot's leadership, this WHO Commission has concentrated on the badly neglected causal linkages that have to be adequately understood and remedied.
A fuller understanding is also a call for action."
David Satcher, Director of the Center of Excellence on Health Disparities and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute Initiative, formerly the United States Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary for Health and also Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "The United States of America spends more on health care than any other country in the world, yet it ranks 41st in terms of life expectancy. New Orleans and its experience with Hurricane Katrina illustrate why we need to target social determinants of health (SDH) — including housing, education, working and learning conditions, and whether people are exposed to toxins—better than any place I can think of right now. By targeting the SDH, we can rapidly move towards closing the gap that unfairly and avoidably separates the health status of groups of different socio-economic status, social exclusion experience, and educational background."
Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and founding Chairperson of the independent Tanzanian National Women’s Council: "Health delivery is not possible for people living in squalor, in dehumanizing pathetic conditions prevailing in the ever growing slum settlements of cities and towns in developing countries. Investment in basic services such as water and education will always remain constrained if not wasted unless accompanied by requisite investment in decent housing with basic sanitation."
Denny Vågerö, Professor of Medical Sociology, Director of CHESS (Centre for Health Equity Studies) in Sweden, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and of its Standing Committee on Health: "Countries of the world are presently growing apart in health terms. This is very worrying. In many countries in the world social differences in health are also growing, and this is true in Europe. We have been one-sidedly focused on economic growth, disregarding negative consequences for health and climate. We need to think differently about development. "
Gail Wilensky, Senior Fellow at Project HOPE, an international health education foundation. Previously she directed the Medicare and Medicaid programmes in the United States and also chaired two commissions that advise the United States Congress on Medicare: "What this report makes clear is that improving health and health outcomes and reducing avoidable health differences—goals of all countries-- involves far more than just improving the health care system.
Basic living conditions, employment, early childhood education, treatment of women and poverty all impact on health outcomes and incorporating their effects on health outcomes needs to become an important part of public policymaking. This is as true for wealthy countries like the United States as it is for many of the emerging countries of the world, where large numbers of people live on less than $2 per day."
For more information or interviews, please contact:
Sharad Agarwal
Communications Officer
WHO, Geneva
Tel.: +41 22 791 1905
Mob.: +41 79 621 5286
Email: agarwals@who. int
Felicity Porritt
Head, Communications
CSDH, UCL Secretariat
London
Mob.: +44 773 941 9219
Email: felicity.porritt@ mac.com
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