UN leadership in Ethiopia Confer with ERCS Secretary-General
A high-level delegation led by Prof. Ozonnia Ojielo, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, and Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Ethiopia, has conferred with Ato Abera Lulessa, the Secretary-General of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) in Addis Ababa.
The discussion focuses on strengthening the collaboration between ERCS, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), and other humanitarian partners to enhance support for vulnerable communities across Ethiopia.
Ato Abera provided the delegation with an overview of ERCS’s organizational structure and its major emergency and development operations, including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health, disaster preparedness and response, and disaster risk reduction.
Prof. Ozonnia Ojielo, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Ethiopia, said that the goal of UNOCHA and other partners like ERCS is to support people affected by disasters and emergencies, commending the presence of the Society in responding to emergencies on the ground.
He underscored the importance of building trust with public authorities through robust structures, effective information-sharing protocols, and joint advocacy mechanisms to ensure rapid and coordinated humanitarian response.
Ato Abera expressed appreciation for the UN’s commitment to fostering an open and constructive partnership with ERCS, noting that such cooperation is essential to strengthening trust between government institutions and humanitarian actors through dialogue.
For Dires Desyibelew, Deputy Secretary-General at ERCS, anticipatory action-oriented disaster preparedness and response is vital to mitigate the impact of emergencies, expressing the Society’s readiness in life-saving and peace-building operations with innovative approaches.
The partnership between UNOCHA and ERCS will be further consolidated through upcoming strategic and technical-level meetings in the weeks ahead.
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