The UN Women Ethiopia Country Office (ECO) has been working as Country Office since 2012. The country office’s strategy is collaborative partnerships and joint implementation to influence capacity and resources to impact large numbers of women and girls.  ECO works in close partnership with the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), UN Agencies and other partners.  

UN Women has a triple mandate: normative, coordination and operational.  Under the normative work, the office ensures the GoE integrates global frameworks such as the SDGs within its development plans. Through the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, it also coordinates the Government’s sectors, CSOs, UN Agencies and regional organizations on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE).  

The UN Women Strategic Note (SN) 2021-2025 is derived from and contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF 2020-2025), which outlines the United Nation’s vision and strategic focus in Ethiopia.  The UNSCDF supports the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE) development and humanitarian priorities, as articulated in the Ten-Year Perspective Development Plan - Ethiopia 2030: The Pathways to Prosperity (2020 – 2030) and related national policies and plans.  The SN’s orientation and thematic focus areas are grounded in UN Women’s global Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and aligned to major international and African regional development and gender commitments, including the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA) (1995); the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979); Africa’s Agenda 2063; the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) (2003); and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) (2004).  

The main programmatic interventions are: 

Women in Leadership and Governance to promote women’s leadership in decision making at all levels by creating enabling environment and building their capacities. 

Women Economic Empowerment to address challenges that avert women, especially the poorest of the poor, from competently participate and contribute to the country’s socio-economic development. 

Ending Violence against Women and Girls to ensure that women and girls live a life free from violence through provision of access to justice and protection services. 

National planning and budgeting to ensure that new and existing internationally and nationally agreed commitments on GEWE are adequately and effectively financed in Ethiopia by enabling the government to establish gender responsive national planning and budgeting system. 

Coordination for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women to accelerate the progress on the implementation of laws, policies and commitments on gender equality and the empowerment of Women. 

Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action Unit (WPS-HA) to strengthen the role of gender across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.