No Child Left Behind: Impact of ECHO’s Lifesaving Response in East Wollega (Ethiopia, 2025)

Prolonged conflict in Ethiopia’s East Wollega Zone severely disrupted essential services and displaced vulnerable populations. To address these challenges, Save the Children, with ECHO funding, implemented a multisectoral humanitarian response from August 2023 to July 2025 in Guto Gida and Sibu Sire woredas, targeting IDPs, returnees, and host communities. The intervention significantly improved access to healthcare, nutrition, WASH, and education services, achieving high maternal healthcare utilization, a 100% recovery rate among children treated for severe acute malnutrition, a reduction in GAM from 13% to 1.2%, and near-universal access to improved water sources. More than 5,200 children benefited from safer learning environments, resulting in strong school attendance and progression rates. Endline evaluation findings and beneficiary stories demonstrate that the integrated response effectively restored critical services, strengthened community resilience, and improved the well-being of conflict-affected children and families in East Wollega.