Addis Abeba – The European Union today pledged 16 million Euro for National Rehabilitation Commission’s (NRC) works that seek to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate an estimated 370,000 ex-combatants in eight regions in Ethiopia. The UNDP is managing the DDR program in Ethiopia as one of five windows within a wider Peace Support Program that has been rolled out in Afar, Amhara and Tigray regions with support from Germany, Japan and UNDP’s Funding Windows, among others. The Ethiopian government is “committed to cover 15% of the National Demobilization and Reintegration Program,” according to State Minister Semerta. But lack of funding to cover the initial estimated cost of more than 29.7 billion Br remain the commission’s biggest challenges. Very grateful to EU for making financial support to DDR which was signed today at z MOF.

Source: Ethiopian News March 01, 2024 12:04 UTC