Regional Reports - the European External Action Service

� Tila WLW/HIV, a local NGO, has built its own office which became functional with the
inauguration of the NGO by the FDRE President,
� Regional Development Associations (SEPDA, SDA, etc) have a more privileged position
to secure office than most others.
� Even though some NGOs have the resource capacity to construct their own offices (e.g.
JeCCDO), Awassa town administration did not respond to their request for the allocation
of land free of lease payment
14 Capacity Building Needs
1. Both the existing and the emerging need capacity building support for organizational
development, to strengthen capacity and internal processes of planning, management
systems and policies;
2. Mechanisms that create access to donor funding need to be designed in order to build the
develop the logistic capacity and also to ensure the sustainability of funding for the
project activities of local NGOs and other CSO;
3. The on-going dynamics in the regional NSA including the networking initiatives requires
capacity building through the provision of technical and funding support to develop their
logistics capacity while also strengthening the technical and human resource capacity that
hamper NSA and the activities of existing networks and forums.
7. Tigray Regional Report
1. General remarks on NSA at territorial level
1.1. Background about Tigray
� Tigray is the far northern region of Ethiopia bordering Eritrea. The region has one of the
highly rugged topography and ecologically degraded natural resource bases; and hence
prevalence of widespread food insecurity. For this reason, ensuring food security through
integrated approaches is a major development agenda in the region.
� In addition to the natural resource aspects, the region over the last couple of decades has
been the centre of conflicts and battlefields. The border conflict with Eritrea is still not over,
and hence peace and security are still vital issues for the regional socio-economic process.
� Regional actors point that the extended war and conflicts hosted by the region has left
behind huge social and services need gaps that demand for coordinated and intensified
action. For example, the region is standing first in terms of percentage of women-headed
households (35%), who are widowed by the war; and some of the women as well exfighters.
� Administratively, Tigray is divided into 6 zones, including the Mekele special Zone. The
region is amongst the first groups of regions who implemented the woreda decentralization
initiative. As a result, woreda administration is relatively well organized and attempting its
best to coordinate the development process.
� Some sector policies making NSA participation important - e.g. government not financing
primary level school construction, and
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