Ethiopia Protection Analysis Update

In 2025, Ethiopia continues to face multiple, compounding crises of conflict, violence, and the accelerating effects of climate change. Over the past year, the country has experienced recurrent droughts, severe flooding, landslides, and disease outbreaks, all of which have strained national response systems and exposed large segments of the population to heightened vulnerability. These shocks have disrupted livelihoods, destroyed infrastructure, and displaced communities across several regions. Insecurity and armed violence persist in areas such as Amhara, Oromia, and Benishangul-Gumuz, while post-conflict recovery in Tigray remains incomplete. Cross-border dynamics, including instability in neighbouring Sudan and South Sudan, and ongoing insecurity in Somalia, have further exacerbated Ethiopia’s complex humanitarian landscape, particularly in the border regions of Gambella and Somali.

Ethiopia remains one of the most displacement-affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and ranks as one of the highest numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. These movements are driven by a combination of conflict, intercommunal violence, climate-related disasters, and localized administrative restructuring. In many areas, displacement has become protracted and cyclical, as communities face multiple waves of shocks with limited access to basic services or prospects for durable solutions. The loss of traditional coping mechanisms, combined with strained host community resources, has increased the reliance on negative survival strategies and deepened existing vulnerabilities.

While each region of Ethiopia faces unique political, environmental, and social dynamics, the convergence of conflict and climate shocks has created an increasingly fragile protection environment. In 2025, significant funding shortfalls have severely impacted protection programming, undermining the scale, continuity, and reach of principled life-saving services.

Against this backdrop, the Protection Cluster and its AoRs have identified five priority protection risks that require urgent attention:

1. Attacks on Civilians and Other Unlawful Killings, and Attacks on Civilian Objects

2. Unlawful Impediments or Restrictions to Freedom of Movement, Siege and Forced Displacement

3. Discrimination and Stigmatization, Denial of Resources, Opportunities, Services and/or Humanitarian Access

4. Gender-based Violence, including Child, Early or Forced Marriage

5. Child and Forced Family Separation