General Briefing on the Overall Development Endeavors of the Region

Socioeconomic Profile of the Region


Total area of the region is 53,623 Km2
Population 4.113 million with annual growth rate of 2.67%. Of which 82.21 are rural.
72.5% is living below poverty line
(75% rural and 61 urban)
GRDP 3.3 bil. Birr (1999 –2000), with an average growth rate of 6.78%. The share of Agriculture is 50% and Industry 26.4%, the rest for service sectors.
Per capita is 926Birr

   
Agriculture


Total arable land 1.08 million ha, of which 1 million ha is under cultivation,
Average land holding 1.19ha
Fragmented and highly degraded arable land
Average production 700 kg/ha

Health


Mother and children mortality
Under one mortality rate is 97/1000 birth
Under five mortality rate is101/1000 birth
Mother’s mortality rate 756/10000

Water supply


Regional coverage in 2004
Urban 61%
Rural 48%

Health


Household based health extension package
Community based malaria control program
Expansion basic health service coverage
Establishment of training institutions (health assistant training center and nursing schools)
Construction and rehabilitation of health institutions
Material and equipment supply
HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Control

Policies and Strategies

Conservation based Agricultural Led Industrial Development
Rural and agricultural development policy and strategy
Industrial development policy and strategy
Democratization and good governance policy and strategy
Capacity building
Population
Women’s policy
Environmental Protection strategy
Other sectoral policies /education, health, water

Role of Major stakeholders

Government
Have a leading role in development
Create conducive environment
Enact relevance policies and strategies
Skill creation
Provision of Governmental services
Maintain peace and order
Develop Infrastructure
Community
Contribute local material, labor and cash
Involve in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation process
Private sectors
Involve in production and services
Skill and employment creation
Marketing services
Donors
Complement government and community effort

Over all Objectives (2003-2007)

Increase the income of 643,965 rural households, which are 88% to birr 18,000.

Increase the income of 86,827 urban households, which are 54.8% to birr 18,000

7.1 Sector specific objectives

Increase gross enrollment rate from
In 1-8 to 93% and in 9-12 to 25%
Increase the health service coverage
from 68% to 96%
Decrease death during delivery from 756 to 450/100000.
Vaccine for children DPT 3 to 90 %, eradicate Measles.
Eradicate polio and get certificate by 1997EC.
Increase water service coverage from 38 to 65%.
In rural areas from 32% to 66%.
In urban areas from 64 to 74%.
Road density will increase from 44 to 50km/1000sq.km

New Approach for Development (2003 …)

Major reforms on implementation
District level decentralization program
Political decentralization
Fiscal decentralization
Block grant to rural districts
Specific grant to urban districts
Institutional decentralization
Civil service reform
Performance-based management
Human resources development
Service delivery
Ethics
Tax reform
Justice reform
Expenditure management and control
Good governance

Three years strategic plan developed based on
Millennium development goals
Country poverty reduction programs

Education


Gross enrollment rate
In 1-4 is 98.5 and in 5-8 is 55.6%
In secondary school in general (9-12) 17.6%.
With regard to girl participation
In 1-4 is 50.6 and in 5-8 is 46.6
In secondary school 5.9
Quality Indicators
Student classroom ratio in 1-4 158, 5-8 it is 1:60 and 9-12 it is 1:46

 

Social services


Education
In frastructure development Construction of primary and secondary schools
Establishment of training institutions (TEIs, technical colleges)
Enhancing the role of parents and community towards quality of education
Improve quality of education
Material and equipment supply (furniture and textbooks)
Recruiting and training of teachers)
Parents and teachers union establishment
Computation among students and schools

 

 

Water supply


Expansion of potable water supply schemes
Rural roads construction
Construction of rural roads

Overall goals

Building market oriented agriculture that support industry development
Developing industry sector that creates employment and market
Improving the living condition of the society.
Developing basic Infrastructures.
Creating conducive environment for gender equality
Creating HIV/AIDS free society
Developing good governance and efficient civil servant
Strengthening of civic organizations

Major challenges and opportunities

Challenges
Low implementation capacity
Epidemic of HIV/AIDS
Illiteracy
Recurrent Drought

Expectation from Development Partners


Financial support for major development interventions of the region.
Food security programs
Micro water harvesting
Rural technology development
Market in agricultural products
Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET)
Machinery and equipment supply to technical and vocational schools and colleges
Equipping TVET centers with materials and tools,
Micro and Small Enterprise Development
Training for skill creation and machinery supply
Human & Institutional Capacity Building