Ethiopia: Self-Help with External Support

Abstract

In light of United States security policy, Ethiopia is a primary anchor state in the Horn of Africa region and Africa as a whole. In fact, in the context of difficult experiences with a number of neighbouring regions and countries (Somalia, Northern Kenya, Eritrea and South Sudan), Ethiopia emerges as the finest ally the United States government can, to some extent, rely on. However, in addition to international security, Ethiopia constitutes a great developmental and humanitarian challenge as well, in which a number of issues are pooled together, including malnutrition, refugee fluxes and overpopulation. With regard to HIV/AIDS, it should be remarked that the prevalence rate is relatively small when compared to parts of Eastern and, above all, Southern Africa. However, considering the large population, the estimated absolute number of people living with HIV/AIDS is close to one million, who, moreover, face other interrelated problems. In fact, as PEPFAR implementers demonstrate, HIV/AIDS intervention does not generally appear disentangled from the broader developmental landscape. As a whole, Ethiopia constitutes a fine example of an African country which gives breadth to a United States foreign policy that takes international security and humanitarian and development concerns as faces of the same coin.