Traditions like Female Genital Mutilation and child marriage endanger women and girls and violate their human rights. Deeply-ingrained as they are, change is most effective through education and advocacy that works with communities, not against them, to end these traditions for good.
Because no one deserves to be born into a life of poverty.
Ethiopiaid’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty in Ethiopia. We believe change should be local, not imported, so we partner with local, expert organisations who are on-the-ground and who know their communities best. This means your donations help build solutions that are effective, respectful and truly lasting.
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WHERE WE WORK
Why Ethiopia?
Ethiopia is one of Africa’s largest and fastest-growing countries – yet still one of the poorest. Since the famine of the 1980s, when Live Aid shone a global spotlight on Ethiopia, there has been real progress but food insecurity, unemployment, climate shocks and conflict continue to hit the poorest and most vulnerable people the hardest. In a population of around 130.5 million people, about 38.6% live on less than $3 a day. That’s more people living in poverty than the entire population of Australia, almost twice over. Ethiopia is a country of vibrancy and potential but, without change, communities remain trapped and each generation inherits the same cycle of poverty.
50 million
live on less than $3 a day
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1 in 21
children die before the age of 5
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1 doctor
per 10,000 people
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87%
don't have safe drinking water
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CHANGE IS HAPPENING
The impact you're part of
Forty years ago, 9 in 10 girls experienced harmful traditional practices like Female Genital Mutilation. Today that figure has fallen to around half.
Maternal deaths - once some of the highest in the world - have dropped from 953 per 100,000 live births (2000) to 195 (2023).
School enrolment is increasing. Once, 81% of children were out of school. Now it’s dropped down to 11%.
Change like this doesn't happen overnight. But these shifts show that this work being done - this work you can support - is not only saving lives today but changing the course of generations.
WHAT WE DO
Major areas of work
From birth to death. We're there for the most vulnerable, regardless of age, gender or location. This is what your donations can do too.
Harmful traditional practices
Maternal health
In Ethiopia, pregnancy and childbirth can still be deadly. Around 195 women die for every 100,000 births, compared with 5 in Australia. Change depends on awareness and access — women need clear information about safe birth and quality care within reach, especially in rural areas.
Child trafficking
High orphan rates, unequal access to schooling and deep poverty create dangerous conditions in which child trafficking thrives. The solution must go beyond reuniting trafficked children with their families and tackle the root causes of poverty that traffickers exploit.
Gender inequality
From gender-based violence to inadequate sanitary facilities at school, many barriers still hold women and girls in Ethiopia back. Yet by opening up equal education and economic opportunity, it’s not just women who benefit, but their children, families and communities too.
Palliative care
With hospice and palliative care still emerging in much of Ethiopia, many people with terminal illness face their final days in pain and isolation. No person should experience this. Everyone should have the dignity of medical care, pain relief, counselling and support at the end of life.
Emergency relief
When conflict, climate shocks or disease strike, it is often the most vulnerable people who are hit hardest. While rapid humanitarian aid is crucial, true recovery depends on restoring livelihoods and empowering communities to withstand future crises, when or if they happen.
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SEE THE LATEST
News from Ethiopia
In Memory of our Founder, Sir Alec Reed
4 December 2025
It is with sadness that we announce Sir Alec Reed CBE, founder of Ethiopiaid and “the man who revolutionised philanthropy”, has died aged 91.
Maternal Mortality in Ethiopia
28 October 2025
Why the Afar region is one of the deadliest places to give birth in Ethiopia.
Thank You & Update: Child Trafficking
15 September 2025
Thank you to all who donated to help stop child trafficking in Arba Minch.
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OUR PHILOSOPHY
Zero barriers
We are non-political, non-religious, and we receive no government funding. This means we remain impartial - ready and able to help the most vulnerable people in Ethiopia, without barriers or exclusion and regardless of circumstance, location or belief.
USE OF DONATIONS
How your giving transforms lives
100% of our funding comes from people like you. Here's a year-to-year average of how we invest and distribute the generous donations we receive.
OUR WORK
⇓
60-70%
goes to project partners and areas of work in Ethiopia
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FUNDRAISING
⇓
25%
goes to raising awareness and support for the need in Ethiopia
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OPERATING
⇓
10%
goes to operating expenses, kept low by wholesale suppliers
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ADMINISTRATION
⇓
5%
is for wages and admin costs, kept low by a small team and efficient software
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BECAUSE YOU CARE
Stay connected to the cause
News from the field. Progress you're part of. Areas of need. This is what you'll receive when you sign up to our emails.
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"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
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Ethiopiaid Australia believes in dignity, equality and justice for all people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work in Australia, and pay our respects to their people, cultures and Elders past and present. Whether in Australia, Ethiopia or around the world, we affirm the importance of universal human rights and the inherent dignity of every person.
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