On 27th October, Teshome Fiseha, Counselor, Embassy of Ethiopia, Japan, visited JOICFP to express thanks on behalf of the Ethiopian government and people for continued assistance under the MCCOBA (Municipal Coordinating Committee on Overseas Bicycle Assistance) scheme since 1989. To date, 1,350 bicycles have been shipped from Japan to Ethiopia.

Teshome pointed out that assistance from MCCOBA was greatly appreciated as it directly reached people at the grassroots, and that although Ethiopia received a lot of international aid, much more needed to be done for it to actually reach those in need. Community-based health volunteers for the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia, an IPPF member association, receive the bicycles and use them in delivering services and supplies.

Teshome went on to say that the Japanese Grant Assistance at the Grassroots program effectively benefited people at the grassroots and helped reduce poverty, and that Ethiopia was grateful the TICAD NGO Forum as it had designated Ethiopia as one of the priority countries. Ethiopia, he said, looked forward to further collaboration with the Japanese government and NGOs.

The population of Ethiopia is around 72 million, and is still rapidly growing. The country recognizes that poverty and population are interlinked, and it is coming to terms with this. Teshome thanked JOICFP for its activities as he said they were very relevant to the situation in Ethiopia.

(from left) Teshome talks with Sumie Ishii,
Executive Director, and Hideyuki Takahashi,
Resource Development and Campaign, JOICFP.