To the People of Ethiopia,
As we welcome the new year, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on our joint achievements from the past year and look forward to the future with hope, determination, and a mutual commitment to dialogue and peace. As we move into the next 120 years of diplomatic relations between our two nations, I am proud of our enduring ties, through the challenges and successes.
We have made progress on the economic front and the United States’ private sector has played a key role. A prime example is the historic collaboration this year between Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines, culminating in the purchase of up to 87 Boeing aircraft worth $27 billion enhancing the fleet of Africa’s largest airline with state-of-the-art, U.S. made aircraft.
Our United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and our Department of Agriculture continued supporting local coffee farmers throughout 2024, working to increase productivity and ensuring Ethiopia’s high-quality coffee maintains the best possible prices, improving the livelihoods of millions of Ethiopians. 2024 was a banner year for coffee production and exports, and I am excited to see more progress in 2025 and beyond.
In November, the United States Government’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) brought together investors and financial experts from across Africa to explore the potential of Ethiopia’s newly launched capital market.
We have worked with the Ethiopian government and international partners, including the IMF and the World Bank, to kick off macroeconomic reform the country needs. Ethiopia has been able to avoid economic crisis through prudent monetary policy, bolstering its key exports, and injecting new energy into its economy. We have held productive meetings with the government on strengthening the banking sector and co-hosting an inaugural High-Level Business Forum in March 2025.
At a time when many still struggle to access education, we have worked inclusively to increase enrollment of pre-primary students and provide education and training opportunities to youth with disabilities. As Ethiopia’s public universities continue to move towards autonomous governance, we are intensifying efforts to enhance the quality of higher education and expanded partnerships with U.S. universities. Additionally, we remain committed to cultural preservation, most recently on the Debre Tsion church (Abune Abraham), a 14th-century rock-hewn church in Tigray, bringing together experts from the World Monuments Fund and the local community.
Our investments in the broader health care community have greatly improved health services for all Ethiopians, reducing TB-related deaths, expanding women’s access to pre- and post-natal health services, and shielding over 2.1 million people from the threat of malaria. In 2024, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) provided HIV counseling and test services for nearly 3.6 million individuals and treatment services for 521,036 men, women, and children, continuing its 21-year tradition of strengthening Ethiopia’s health systems and its AIDS response. Our Global Health Security program continues support to Ethiopia to prevent, detect, and manage public health outbreaks, while our global immunization program supports emergency response for epidemics such as cholera, polio, and measles. Since 2000, life expectancy in Ethiopia has risen by 17 years to 67.8 years according to WHO estimates – a profound transformation. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), we have invested nearly $4 billion in the health sector over the last two decades and PEPFAR has invested $3 billion. As the largest donor to the Ethiopian health sector, I am proud of the U.S. government’s contribution to these shared achievements in the provision of health care for all Ethiopians and look forward to reestablishing health care services to regions affected by conflict.
The United States also continues to support Ethiopia as a regional host for refugees and asylum seekers. In 2024, the United States provided more than $150 million for multi-sectoral support for refugees, host communities, internally displaced populations, and humanitarian efforts across Ethiopia. We commend the government of Ethiopia for providing refuge for so many in times of difficulty in the region.
In partnership with Ethiopian communities, the U.S. government provided critical humanitarian assistance to those facing urgent needs. This included over $676 million in lifesaving support for people affected by conflict, drought, and food insecurity this year. Additionally, we invested $114 million in Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), bringing our total to $2.6 billion since its founding. USAID launched a $48 million Disaster Risk Management project, one of 13 new programs valued at $251 million.
These are just a few of our accomplishments and our hard work and collaboration will continue. But the recent effort to surge food and medical supplies to some populations in Wollo demonstrates the true solution to humanitarian crises is peace and stability. We remain deeply invested in supporting Ethiopia and its people in many aspects including helping to resolve and move beyond the internal conflicts destroying lives and livelihoods. We stand ready to support peace talks between the government and armed groups in Amhara and Oromia, whenever and wherever the parties are ready to engage constructively. I think the Peace Council in Amhara is a good starting point to address conflict in that region. We have worked privately and publicly to identify openings for dialogue and supported the National Rehabilitation Commission’s disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) process with $16.4 million in funding for the program and parallel efforts to support livelihood creation in conflict affected regions. We continue to encourage full implementation of the November 2, 2022, Pretoria Agreement to secure peace dividends particularly for all the people of Ethiopia.
As 2025 begins, we have seen encouraging signs of improvement with the start of the DDR process. It is our hope, shared by many Tigrayans, that the region’s political leaders will focus on the well-being of their people. Actors within and outside of Ethiopia spouting divisive and toxic rhetoric should also stop and focus instead on the well-being of all Ethiopians impacted by conflict. Let us support the people of Ethiopia in building a healthy economy and peaceful political environment as IDPs return to their homes.
We reiterate our call on all actors involved in the ongoing conflicts in Amhara, Oromia, and elsewhere in Ethiopia to protect civilians, respect human rights, and negotiate peace. The humanitarian toll of conflict has been devastating, with children out of school, restricted access to medical care, and farmers unable to plant crops. The resource exploitation, including illegal mining and deforestation, that often accompanies conflict, also devastate our environment. Only through lasting peace can we hope to regulate and mitigate these harms for the benefit of Ethiopia’s land and future generations. Another ramification of conflict is the increased criminality and kidnappings which hinder safe passage, economic growth, and aid delivery. At least eight aid workers have been killed in 2024, six in the Amhara region alone. We urge all actors to maintain space for civil society and media to operate freely. Laying down verbal weapons is as important as ending the use of physical one, allowing space for tolerance, compromise and dialogue.
As a friend to Ethiopia, we stand ready to support efforts to achieve long-term stability and peace for all Ethiopians. The people of Ethiopia deserve peace and we must all work together to achieve it. In order to effectively project peace across the region, Ethiopia must have peace at home. In that regard, we were pleased to see Ethiopia and Somalia move past last year’s tensions with their December 11 declaration in Ankara, and we encourage intensified cooperation on mutual security, especially in combating al-Shabaab. The United States is committed to ensuring unfettered commercial access to the Red Sea, which is important for Ethiopia, and we will continue our efforts to block the Houthis from partnering with al-Shabaab.
In the United States we often use the New Year as a time of reflection and to make commitments to ourselves and our communities. As we look forward to 2025, let us all resolve to work towards a more peaceful, thriving, and cohesive Ethiopia.
Happy New Year to all.
Ambassador Ervin J. Massinga
U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia
By U.S. Embassy Ethiopia | 14 January, 2025 | Topics: Ambassador, Culture, Human Rights, News, U.S. & Ethiopia
