How Ethiopia is leading the way in country ownership

When it comes to country ownership of development programs, Ethiopia is definitely a trailblazer. Through its strong resolve and frank discussions with donors, the East African country has been shaking up the traditional donor-recipient aid dynamic — pushing it to evolve toward a more equal partnership. “I can give you many examples in Ethiopia where we refused to accept even [donor] money because whatever we were asked by the partners to do was not actually something we wanted to do,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ethiopia’s foreign affairs minister, told Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar in a video interview on the sidelines of the Devex Partnerships & Career Forum in Addis Ababa. But country ownership is not synonymous with unilateral decision-making by recipient governments. The design and implementation of development programs should involve beneficiaries, donors and implementers in a collaborative and mutually supportive way. “Ownership doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen or learn from others,” Tedros noted. So how exactly has the government in Addis Ababa managed to get international and local partners on board with its national priorities? Watch the full interview to learn more about Ethiopia’s experience with aligning the procedures and practices of the international aid community with its objectives — thus improving aid coherence. Check out more insights and analysis provided to hundreds of Executive Members worldwide, and subscribe to the Development Insider to receive the latest news, trends and policies that influence your organization.