Ethiopia strengthens efforts to support refugee self-reliance

In Ethiopia’s Ura refugee settlement, High Commissioner Barham Salih urged greater support for inclusive policies that enable refugees to rebuild their lives alongside hosts.

On a visit to Ethiopia’s Ura refugee settlement to mark World Refugee Day, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih praised the country’s progressive approach to refugee protection and inclusion, urging greater international support for host countries offering long-term solutions that allow refugees to rebuild their lives.

Ethiopia is one of Africa’s largest refugee-hosting countries, home to over 1.1 million refugees and asylum-seekers, including more than 45,000 refugees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Sudan since April 2023. Ura settlement, in Ethiopia’s northwestern Benishangul Gumuz region, hosts more than 14,500 Sudanese refugees, who live alongside the local community and have access to the same services.

At Ura settlement, Salih visited a primary school where young Sudanese and Ethiopian children learn side by side. He also met Sudanese refugee entrepreneurs who had opened businesses to support themselves and their families, as well as contributing to the local economy.

Two days earlier, in Addis Ababa, the High Commissioner joined Government ministers and officials to launch Ethiopia’s Makatet Roadmap – a framework for shifting from solely humanitarian relief to long-term development, transforming traditional camps into self-reliant urban settlements, integrated with national service delivery systems.