Mekdes Daba

Ensuring food and nutrition security is not merely a policy priority, it is a national imperative. It forms the foundation upon which a strong, productive society is built, and it remains essential to the realization of our country’s broader economic and social aspirations. Today, we convened a virtual session to assess and advance key national priorities. Our discussions focused on Food System Transformation; the implementation of our Nutrition and Food Security commitments; the expansion of health insurance; the “Clean Ethiopia” national advocacy; reforms to the Health Extension Program; and the performance of the first six months of the 2018 Ethiopian Fiscal Year plan. In the course of our deliberations, we endorsed the National Food System Transformation Roadmap at the federal level. We further issued clear direction to ensure that the roadmap’s priority actions are fully integrated into the plans and execution frameworks of sector ministries and regional bureaus, translating ambition into measurable progress. We also reviewed the progress of the Seqota Declaration an enduring commitment to end child undernutrition. In doing so, we approved the five-year implementation plan for the final phase (2019–2023 E.C.) of its 15-year roadmap. We underscored the urgency of accelerating the reduction of stunting and other forms of malnutrition by scaling proven interventions and deepening community ownership and participation. On health insurance, we reached a shared understanding of the need to strengthen implementation structures at the regional level and to move, where feasible within this fiscal year, toward the establishment of a federal risk pool. We further agreed that community-based health insurance funds should be deposited in the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, alongside one additional bank designated by each region, while reinforcing contribution systems that reflect households’ ability to pay. With respect to the “Clean Ethiopia” initiative and the reform of the Health Extension Program, we affirmed that the five-year implementation roadmap must be pursued with renewed momentum, discipline, and leadership. In particular, we directed that adequate budgetary allocations be secured at both federal and regional levels, and that resource mobilization efforts be broadened and sustained. The work ahead is significant, but so too is our resolve. With unity of purpose, disciplined execution, and the full engagement of our people, we will continue to move forward steadily and decisively toward a healthier, more resilient, and more prosperous Ethiopia.

ከግማሽ ክፍለ ዘመን በላይ ኢትዮጵያን በዲፕሎማሲው መስክ ያገለገሉት አምባሳደር ቆንጂት ሥነ ጊዮርጊስ በማረፋቸው የተሰማኝን ኀዘን ለመግለጽ እወዳለሁ። አምባሳደር ቆንጂት ከልጅነት እስከ ዕውቀት ኢትዮጵያን በዲፕሎማትነት በማገልገል፣ ከአምባሳደር ዮዲት እምሩ ቀጥለው ሁለተኛዋ ሴት የኢትዮጵያ አምባሳደር ናቸው። ለሕግ፣ ለአሠራር፣ ለፕሮቶኮል እና ለኢትዮጵያ ጥቅሞች በነበራቸው የጸና አቋም እናስታውሳቸዋለን። ከእርሳቸው በኋላ አያሌ ሴት ዲፕሎማቶች በመስኩ እንዲሠማሩ መንገዱን አስፍተዋል። ለቤተሰቦቻቸው፣ ለሥራ ባልደረቦቻቸው እና ለመላ ኢትዮጵያውያን መጽናናት እመኛለሁ።