Ethiopia Advances Toward Humanitarian Self-Reliance with New Disaster Risk Management Council

Addis Ababa, January 4, 2026 (FMC) – Ethiopia has taken a key step toward humanitarian self-reliance with the first meeting of the newly restructured Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Council, Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Truneh said.

He made the remarks yesterday while chairing the Council’s inaugural meeting, which now includes religious institutions, community associations, civil society, and the private sector.

Temesgen said the Council, working alongside the government, will strengthen a humanitarian system that operates independently and serves the population with dignity. He added that it will function under an updated policy framework, a strengthened proclamation, and a revitalized Disaster Response Fund, aiming to mobilize public capacity early and prevent avoidable loss and suffering.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that lasting solutions to humanitarian challenges require systematic, institutional capacity built on domestic resources, ingenuity, and collective will. He noted that since the summer of 2016 E.C., the government has pursued reforms to replace dependency with productivity, and the results of these efforts are now visible.

He outlined key government priorities, including establishing a sustainable Disaster Response Fund, organizing strategic reserve stockpiles at federal and regional levels, and ensuring that displaced citizens are durably resettled and supported to return to productive lives.

Temesgen highlighted Ethiopia’s long-standing traditions of mutual support and partnership, saying the Council will expand the shift from dependency to productivity across communities and regions. He acknowledged that achieving humanitarian self-reliance requires knowledge, wisdom, and steady leadership and affirmed that the effort will be guided by the spirit of Medemer and a shared resolve to act collectively.

“Together, with unity of purpose and strength of conviction, we will build an Ethiopia that meets its humanitarian needs with confidence, compassion, and self-reliance,” Temesgen said. “Ethiopia rises with dignity—self-reliant, united, and unbreakable.”