General Briefing on the Overall Development Endeavors of the Region

1. 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 is 101/1000 birth
Mother’s mortality rate  756/10000

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

Water supply
Regional coverage in 2004
Urban  61%
Rural  48%

2. 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

3.Major programs

Rural Development Program
H ousehold based extension program
Market oriented production system
Diversification
Specialization
Intensive water harvesting schemes
Rural credit and saving
Extension services
Supply of inputs
Marketing service promotion
Skill creation and knowledge transfer
Technical support (three extension agent/PA)
Infrastructure development
Farmers training center (1 training center/PA)
Access roads (community roads)
Expansion of agricultural institutions
Urban Development program
Micro and small scale enterprises development
Skill creation (TVET, other training program)
Credit
Group formation
Low cost house construction
Employment creation
Investment promotion
Industrial zone establishment
Good governance
Ensure strong linkage b/n rural & urban dev’t program

Social services

Education
Infrastructure 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

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

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

4. 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

5.Major achievements

400,000/700,000 (16% women) Households Involved in HH Extension Package.
Total crop production slightly increased
44,000 HH possess their own ponds/ hand dug wells.
Improved Breeds of Dairy Cows Distributed and Milk yield increased from 3 to 6-10 liters/day
Modern beehives Distributed and Honey Production raised from 5-8 to 20-25Kg/Hive

Gross enrollment rate increased from
In 1-8 from 20% in 1993 to 88% in 2005
In 9-12 from 4% 1993 to 17% in 2004
Health service coverage increased from 10% 1993 to 61% in 2004
Vaccine for children DPT 3 to 84 %,
Measles 95%.
Eradicate polio and get certificate by 1997EC.
Water service coverage increased
In rural areas 48%.
In urban areas 61%.
Road density increased from 8 to 45.5 km/1000sq.km

Besides, attitude of the people towards development has radically changed
Private investment increased from nil to more than 4.8 Billion Birr capital investment (550, million USD)
Inland revenue generating capacity increased from 6 million to 152 million (18 million USD)
Micro and small enterprise significantly increased

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

6. 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

7.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

8.Major challenges and opportunities

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

Opportunities

Strong commitment of the people and leadership
Political Stability
Ample labor
Natural resources
Water resources
Uncultivated arable land
Involvement of private investors
Conducive policies and strategies
Decentralization
Civil service reform
Budget reforms

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