Ethiopia: A Holistic Approach to Community Development Blossoms Two Years After Taking Root

• Sean Peoples

As evening fell upon Yirgalem, Ethiopia, more than 70 participants from a large cross-section of Ethiopia’s NGO community—as well as a few international participants like myself—gathered in a packed conference room in the Furra Institute for the second annual General Assembly of the Consortium for the Integration of Population, Health, and Environment (CIPHE).

“An integrated population, health, and environment (PHE) approach begins with an understanding of local population, health, and environment links,” said Population Reference Bureau’s Jason Bremner, setting the stage for an in-depth examination of Ethiopia’s innovative integrated community development projects.

Negash Teklu, executive director of CIPHE, described several projects that use PHE linkages to meet community needs on the ground: The Relief Society of Tigray, LEM Ethiopia, MELCA Mahiber, and the Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources Association project in Metu.

Teklu explained that the “holistic and participatory community approach can bring real understanding between people and their environment, and between people and their health.”

Heather D’Agnes, technical advisor and PHE champion at USAID, led an enthusiastic discussion on PHE projects that ranged from conception to implementation, focusing on how the CIPHE members may better incorporate the PHE integrated model in their own projects.

Two short years ago, CIPHE began with a small but dedicated group of active members. Since then, the consortium has attracted more than 50 organizations.

This year’s conference aims to “demonstrate population, health, and environment (PHE) interventions as reliable, cost effective, and innovative responses to diverse community needs by presenting local, regional and international developments in the PHE field.” The informal networking after the formal presentations offered a great opportunity for the consortium’s members to share lessons on PHE integration from across the vast country.

Next up: the conference attendees will visit PHE intervention sites for some hands-on experience.

ECSP Program Associate Sean Peoples is reporting from the CIPHE conference in Ethiopia.