“ERCS’s Financial Self-Reliance Efforts Are Encouraging,” Says EDRMC Commissioner H.E. Ambassador Shiferaw Teklemariam
The Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), in collaboration with the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC), conducted a Training of Trainers (ToT) in Addis Ababa on the Disaster Risk Management Policy, Proclamation No. 1386/2025, and the Humanitarian Food Aid Self-Sufficiency Initiative.
The training brought together ERCS leadership, Disaster Risk Management experts, and heads of regional branch offices to strengthen their understanding of the national disaster management framework and promote coordinated humanitarian action.
Opening the training, Ato Abera Lulessa, Secretary General of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, highlighted the Society’s commitment to building resilient communities through sustainable humanitarian and recovery interventions. He noted that approximately 75 percent of donor funding is being invested in rebuilding conflict-damaged health and water infrastructure, as well as in long-term initiatives such as the solarization of essential public services.
Ato Abera also emphasized ERCS’s continued efforts to safeguard its institutional independence and neutrality while strengthening its financial sustainability. Referring to the Society’s Strategic Plan, he stated that ERCS aims to generate 70 percent of its income from domestic sources within the next five years, reducing reliance on external funding and enhancing its capacity to respond to humanitarian needs.
He further reaffirmed ERCS’s position that disaster risk management should be government-led, pledging the Society’s full commitment to supporting the implementation of Ethiopia’s Disaster Risk Management Policy.
Addressing the participants, His Excellency Ambassador Shiferaw Teklemariam, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, stressed that the Disaster Risk Management Policy is a national framework that should guide the work of all institutions engaged in humanitarian action, rather than being the property of a single institution. He emphasized the importance of developing a shared understanding among all humanitarian actors to ensure effective, coordinated, and accountable disaster management.
The Commissioner commended the Ethiopian Red Cross Society for its efforts to strengthen its financial self-reliance, describing the initiative as both encouraging and aligned with the country’s broader development agenda. He underscored the importance of promoting human dignity and self-reliance by reducing dependency and supporting communities to become more resilient and self-sufficient.
During the training, experts from the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) and officials from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society delivered presentations on the overview and objectives of the Disaster Risk Management Policy, its government-led implementation framework, relevant legal provisions, institutional roles and responsibilities, compliance requirements, the Humanitarian Food Aid Self-sufficiency Initiative, and approaches to integrating disaster risk management and building community resilience.
As stipulated in the Disaster Risk Management Proclamation, the Ethiopian Red Cross Society is a member of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Council, reaffirming its role as a key partner in the country’s disaster preparedness, response, and resilience-building efforts.
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