Press Release

Press Release

ECHO conveened a Panel on the State of Civil Societies in Ethiopia, and Diaspora Engagement.

Silver Spring, MD—On January 24, 2026, Empowering Civil Societies and Humanitarian Outreach -ECHO hosted a hybrid panel on the topics of “The State of Civil Societies in Ethiopia” and “Diaspora as a Force of Civil Society Empowerment and Humanitarian Outreach.” The session brought together stakeholders from Ethiopia and the U.S. to discuss the issue under consideration.

Mr. Henock Shishige, Executive Director of ECHO, opened the session by stressing that effective humanitarian response, peacebuilding, and governance rely on strong local civil society groups. He urged dialogue, evidence-based analysis, and coordinated action among domestic and diaspora stakeholders amid Ethiopia's decreasing civic space and ongoing political crisis.

Ms. Konjit Birhan, Program and Organizational Development Director of ECHO, discussed the current state of Ethiopia's civil society Organizations and ECHOs program pillar “Civil Society Organizations Empowerment.” She emphasized the crucial role of CSOs in Ethiopia including humanitarian efforts, social cohesion, and peace while highlighting the sector's vulnerability and the urgent need for enhanced capacity. She described the stringent legal and regulatory requirements, operational challenges, funding and sustainability issues, coordination and networking problems, as well as leadership and legitmacy. She also discussed ECHO’s commitment to build the capacity of the CSOs through structured, participatory, and adaptive working modalities.

Mr. Adane Tadesse of ECHO discussed the Ethiopian diaspora's role in supporting civil society and humanitarian efforts through remittances, advocacy, and aid. He noted challenges like fragmentation, mistrust, and poor coordination with local CSOs, which hinder the impact of the diaspora efforts. A unified, evidence-based approach could improve support, access, and accountability in Ethiopia. Hence ECHO seeks to challenge the status quo by working towards the creation of a unified and constructive Ethiopian diaspora community that could support humanitarian outreach and empower civil society organizations. To this end, ECHO has planned to conduct a baseline assessment of the diaspora based civil society organizations.

Following the presentations, participants engaged in a moderated discussion filled with questions, reflections, and suggestions. The conversation highlighted the importance of:

• protecting civic space,

• enhancing collaboration between local and diaspora CSOs,

• minimizing fragmentation, and

• promoting sustainable funding and resilience.

Participants stressed that civil society engagement is vital for humanitarian work, peacebuilding, social cohesion, and democratic governance.

The event concluded with remarks from Mr. Henock, who thanked the presenters and participants for their meaningful contributions and reaffirmed ECHO’s commitment to strengthening civil society. He also stressed ECHO’s continued efforts to leverage the diaspora’s untapped potential for peace and stability in Ethiopia through research, dialogue, partnership development, and evidence-based advocacy.

Empowering Civil Societies and Humanitarian Organization -ECHO

Silver Spring, MD, USA

On January 24, 2026,