© UNICEF Ethiopia/2025/Nahom Tesfaye
Posted by: UNICEF Canada
February 27, 2026

In Afar, one of Ethiopia’s most remote and drought-stricken regions, hope arrives in many forms: Under a tree, in a classroom, in the neat rows of gardens planted by neighbours and friends – wherever it appears, it’s thanks to the perseverance of local UNICEF staff, community leaders, and partners.

In December 2025, members of the UNICEF Canada team visited northeast Ethiopia to see this hope in action.

A health clinic under the shade of a tree 

Collage of rural community gathering under large shade trees, featuring humanitarian aid distribution and outdoor village meeting. Left image shows men, women, and children in colorful traditional clothing and headscarves sitting on the ground near medical supplies and boxes, suggesting mobile health clinic. Right image depicts a group of women in vibrant patterned hijabs and shawls seated in a circle on mats beneath trees, participating in community discussion.
Left: Dozens of people wait under a makeshift waiting room at the Demi mobile health and nutrition clinic in Mille Woreda, Afar. Such clinics provide essential health and nutrition services to people living in remote areas. Right: Women and girls participate in a Child Protection Program on life skills for teenage girls who are not enrolled in school in Asayita, in the Afar region. [UNICEF Ethiopia/2025/Nahom Tesfaye]

The Afar region’s desert is one of the hottest places on Earth. Here, the shade of trees becomes the waiting room for families seeking care at a time when the country’s health sector is subject to the stresses of conflict, climate change and funding cuts. 

That’s where UNICEF-supported mobile health and nutrition clinics are helping to make a difference. Because many of Afar’s communities are nomadic pastoralists, these clinics are one way to bring much-needed health and nutrition services directly to children and their families. Essential medicines, therapeutic food and even transport to the nearest health centre for very ill patients is provided under this tree.

Still for some, just getting to these clinics remains challenging. Fatouma, mother to a 1-month-old baby, walked for hours to have her baby immunized. Recent aid cuts have only made matters worse, reducing the number of mobile health clinics in region from 30 to 14.

Collage of humanitarian medical outreach under shaded trees. Left image shows a male healthcare worker in a white lab coat holding a pen and notepad, standing among seated women and children in colorful traditional clothing and headscarves, with medical supplies and boxes. Right image features a close-up of a mother in an orange hijab holding her baby while a healthcare worker fastens a MUAC band on the child.
Left: Seid, a Mobile Health Clinic nurse, poses for a photo during a long day of screening patients and children at the Demi mobile health and nutrition clinic in Millie Woreda, Afar. Right: One-year-old Seada, with her mother Merim, is being screened for malnurition at the Demi mobile health and nutrition clinic in Millie Woreda, Afar Region, Ethiopia. [UNICEF Ethiopia/2025/Nahom Tesfaye]

“All of this — from treatments and supplies to the delivery of critical services — are packed in and out daily by this UNICEF supported mobile clinic. It’s hard to overstate its impact in a region with some of the lowest health and nutrition outcomes in Ethiopia,” - Sevaun Palvetzian, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada.

Inclusive classrooms and innovative partnerships 

Left image shows a woman in a UNICEF tshirt and a young student in a pink headscarf looking at each other while smiling at a desk. Right image features a smiling schoolgirl in a blue hijab standing in front of a chalkboard with English vocabulary words written in chalk.
Left: UNICEF Canada President and CEO Sevaun Palvetzian with 13-year-old Fatuma at Chifra Primary School in Chifra Woreda. Fatouma enjoys playing football with her brothers and aspires to become a heart specialist. Right: Sayida Mohamed, an 11-year-old student in grade 5 at Millie Primary School, loves learning and wants to become a doctor. [UNICEF Ethiopia/2025/Nahom Tesfaye]

Recent conflict left behind damaged infrastructure and schools, displaced communities and a loss of livelihoods. With the help of UNICEF and partners, children impacted by the conflict are catching up their education as their teachers participate in training and damaged schools are rebuilt.

Inclusive education programs have also been introduced in the region. In Ethiopia, girls face some of the toughest barriers to staying in school, with 40% marrying before turning 18 according to the latest Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey from 2016. These pressures pull many girls out of class long before they finish their education. 

One initiative to address this issue is UNICEF-supported gender clubs. These clubs give girls a safe space to talk about topics many don’t discuss at home. This can include anything from menstruation to building confidence to knowing their rights as girls and young women. Boys also join the conversation, learning how to challenge harmful gender norms, stigma attached to menstruation, and stand alongside their classmates.

Left photo: Two people are standing together in front of a brightly painted yellow wall. The person on the left is wearing a UNICEF shirt. The other person is standing close beside them and wearing a colorful, patterned garment and head coverin, both are smiling. Right photo: An adult is seated on the floor with several young children, helping them with what appears to be a school activity. The group is gathered on a patterned mat.
Left: Teacher Zebiba with UNICEF Canada's Chief Program Officer Rebecca Davidson. Zebiba runs the gender club at Chifra Primary School in Chifra Woreda, which helps provide livelihood skills to girls and links them to additional health services if needed. Right: Sara Zerehi, UNICEF Canada's Chief Strategic Engagement Officer with children from Millie Primary School, Millie Woreda. [UNICEF Ethiopia/2025/Nahom Tesfaye]

“If we want to break deeply intrenched gender norms and stigma — we need young people who believe in a different future. These clubs do exactly that. They help girls build confidence and teach boys the role they play in creating safe, respectful communities. It’s one of the most promising models for lasting change.” - Rebecca Davidson, Interim Chief Programs Officer, UNICEF Canada.

Community gardens lead to healthier communities

Left: A person walks through rows of crops in a small, green agricultural field. Right: A group of people stands together outdoors in a cultivated field, surrounded by plants and trees.
Left: One of 60 community gardens in Afar's Asayita district. Right: Members of UNICEF's team at a community garden in Asayita. [UNICEF Ethiopia/2025/Nahom Tesfaye]

Malnutrition remains a chronic issue for many parts of Ethiopia, but Afar has been hit the hardest. The rate of child food poverty – children's inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet during early childhood, stands at a staggering 99%, with 50% living in severe food poverty and 49% with moderate food poverty. Making the need for prevention just as important as treatment options.  

UNICEF has been working closely with communities on one option that’s proven to be as innovative as it is simple: Community gardens. 

Often a staple in neighbourhoods across Canada, community gardens are proving to be an extremely effective way to provide access to nutritious food, help diversity diets and create opportunities to improve nutritional knowledge.

They are also effective at engaging local households. One pilot garden in Asayita saw as many as 60 households participate in backyard gardening. 

These households were successfully able to grow vegetables and introduced them into their children’s diet. The gardens have also created opportunities to introduce gardening practices, school gardening and cooking demonstrations, so that no matter the circumstances, communities can continue to develop their own sustainable approach to nutrition. 

“Health and nutrition weren’t treated in silos but as interconnected challenges with integrated solutions at the core – exactly how UNICEF approaches its work. The gardens provide nourishment, and this is paired with cooking classes to promote nutrient‑rich meals, community‑based malnutrition management, nutrition information systems, and more – a holistic, well‑rounded approach that was inspiring to witness.” - Sara Zerehi, Chief Strategic Engagement Officer, UNICEF Canada

Learn more about UNICEF’s work in Ethiopia.

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