A presentation by Workneh Yadete and Nicola Jones for Girls’ Education Learning Forum, April 2021

1. Adolescents’ access to education in Ethiopia and
the role of climate change
Workneh Yadete, April 2021
Adolescent girl carrying water, Amhara, Ethiopia © Nathalie Bertrams /GAGE 2020

2. Presentation Outline
1
• GAGE overview
2
• GAGE findings
3
• Recommendations

3. GAGE Overview
Water cannisters in Qualissa, Ethiopia © Nathalie Bertrams / GAGE 2020
Please note that the photographs of
adolescents DO NOT capture GAGE research
participants and consent was gained from
their guardians for the photographs to be
used for GAGE communications purposes.

4. Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE):
A longitudinal research programme (2015-2024)
By finding out ‘what works,’ for whom, where
and why, we can better support adolescent girls
and boys to maximise their capabilities now and
in the future.
We are following 20,000 adolescent girls and boys - the largest cohort of
adolescents in the Global South

5. GAGE longitudinal research sample

6. Conceptual framework

7. Overview
Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges and is influencing the severity and frequency
of climate-related hazards. This can have indirect impacts on food/water security, migration and health.
Low-income countries are disproportionately impacted by the impacts of climate change and will
experience greater instances of climate-related hazards.
Girls are at heightened risks of the impacts of climate change due to intersection of gender and age
vulnerabilities.
Ethiopia is projected to have an increase in temperature of 1-2 degrees by 2050, increased
unpredictability of rains and increased instances of drought.

8. Timeline of recent climate-related events in Ethiopia
Water collection point in Amhara ©
Nathalie Bertrams / GAGE 2020
UNICEF, in collaboration with the regional water bureau
and water offices, has built eight multi-village climate-
resilient water schemes since the 2015/16 El Nino drought
©UNICEF Ethiopia/2019/Mulugeta Ayene
A boy in drought affected area in Afar
looking for water and pasture © UNICEF
Ethiopia/2015/Tesfaye

9. Market place in Oromia, Ethiopia © Nathalie Bertrams / GAGE 2019
GAGE findings

10. Direct impacts
• ‘There is a shortage of rain… We have lost our cattle. We became poor because of the
drought… The shortage of the rain is getting worse from time to time as a result we are not
able to produce good crops like sorghum’ (Community members)
Climate change is expected to increase rates of drought and locust outbreaks. As Ethiopia is
highly reliant on agriculture this has large impacts on poverty and food insecurity.
• ‘When there is not enough rain we sell firewood, and charcoal… We use money from the
sale of charcoal to cover family expenses.’ (Mothers of adolescents)
Due to drought-induced crop failure, some families have no other choice but to turn to
charcoal production as an alternative livelihood source, which can result in further
deforestation.
• ‘Females like us face different suffering when there is shortage of water in the area. It is
their responsibility to go long distances early in the morning to fetch water. The workload
increases for girls when there is shortage of water.’ (15-year-old girl)
Changing weather patterns can directly influence water availability, girls are more impacted
by this due to gender norms that mean girls are usually responsible for water collection. This
has a direct impact on their educational attendance and performance.

11. Water shortage and challenges for education
Risko and Roza are married adolescent girls, aged
16 and 17 respectively, and are taking part in the
GAGE Ethiopia participatory research in East
Hararghe Zone.
They took this picture of an adolescent girl
carrying water on her back to show the burden
that girls in their drought-prone community face,
and how this is impacted on their education. Girls
must wake up early every morning and travel long
distances over steep and rocky roads.
‘We have travel 2 hours one way every day,’ they
explained. Sometimes, they added, they carry
water and firewood at the same time. This
consumes half of their education time everyday.
They suggest that the government build water
taps in every community in order to free up girls’
for their education.’
Adolescent girl carrying water container © GAGE Ethiopia Participatory Research Team/GAGE 2019

12. Indirect impacts
• Droughts can cause high rates of seasonal migration (in Afar) and increase time spent
collecting water (mainly impacting girls) due to water scarcity- all of which can impact school
attendance.
‘This change in climate is the major reason for students to drop out of school. Since most of the
parents are poor, they cannot educate their children’ (Key informant, East Hararghe)
One of the problems to educate our children is that… our livelihood is attached to a nomadic life
... The climate conditions of the area have changed from the past. There is drought every year so
we migrate with our animals to other areas (Mother of adolescent girl in Zone 5 Afar)
Education: Poverty and food insecurity as a result of climate-shocks such as drought can lead to
school drop-out and impact learning outcomes.
Negative impacts on livelihoods and ensuing poverty is another key risk to girls’ schooling:
‘I hope my daughter will get a good education… because we haven’t enough cattle to feed our
children and also we are in trouble due to lack of rain, epidemic, and also drought, so I want my
daughter to get education.’ (Mother of adolescent girl, Zone 5, Afar)

13. Indirect impacts
• We found high rates of migration from Oromia region to Somali region to find alternative
work to agriculture, with many reporting that during migration children are out of school due
to language differences.
• In Afar migration to more fertile land is common, this can cause conflict between Amhara
communities and Afar pastoralist when they migrate to each other’s land; adolescents talked
about periods of protracted absenteeism from school as a result.
• Significant ethnic violence has occurred between Somali and Oromia regions of Ethiopia -
resource scarcity may have contributed to tensions and conflict in the region as populations
clash over access to fertile land and water sources.
Conflict and migration: Climate shocks such as drought have resulted in increased migration
as a coping strategy, resulting in longer periods of school absenteeism or drop out
‘Amhara never want to see us when we keep cattle near their farm. If Afar cattle may eat their
crops, they will attack our cattle and camels using hatchets, and then Afars will not tolerate
them, and we will conflict with them. They will kill Afars and they killed many of us and we also
killed many of them… [We migrate] in search of pasture for our cattle and camels that we go to
these areas. It is to save our cattle from drought that we go to these places.’ (Focus group
discussion for 16 to 18-year-old boys, Afar)

14. Indirect impacts
• Due to a lack of water, conflict can arise at water sources. Adolescent girls are also put at
increased risk of sexual violence when travelling further distances to collect water.
‘A lot of women have been hurt at the water point… People are fighting over the existing scarce water
resource because of the shortage… People have been attacking each other when fetching from the
water source. Pregnant women have been hit in the abdomen… (17-year-old boy, East Hararghe)
Violence: Climate change can put some adolescents (particularly girls) at increased risk of violence,
which in turn impacts on their education due to absenteeism and ability to spend time on
homework
• This is due to communities’ strong reliance on the climate for their households’ livelihoods. Many
adolescents were worried and stressed about the impacts of drought on their future livelihoods
and in turn their ability to stay in school.
‘I was worried about the animals that were dying. Then I was worried that we might not have
anything to eat, when many animals were dying and I was crying on the roads while walking. I was
too much worried about the future, if all our animals were going to die.’ (12 year old boy Afar)
Psychosocial: Strong psychosocial impacts of the changing climate in Afar and future opportunities

15. Adolescent participation within climate change action
They [girls] make dagu [traditional form of
decision making in Afar] However, they never
make dagu in detail like elders. They only share
information about themselves, and weddings.
They never talk about big social issues, like
drought, migration, conflict. Boys make dagu in
detail on societal issues, but girls do not’
(15 year old boy, Afar)
Increasingly we have seen young climate activists
across the world taking action and challenging
governments and policy makers.
We found some youth involvement in environmental
protection schemes to combat deforestation and
erosion. Boys were particularly strong advocates and
vocal about the impacts of deforestation.
Although girls are especially vulnerable to the impacts
of climate change. There is a lack of girls’ voices on this
issue and many are excluded from decision-making
platforms.
Schools—as part of civic education could play a
key role in informing adolescents of climate
change risks and mitigation measures; and also
supporting adolescents to participate in
community-level dialogues on these issues

16. Recurrent drought and water contamination
impacts on education and health
Abdi and Ahmed are adolescent boys, aged 17 and 18
respectively, and are taking part in the GAGE
Ethiopia participatory research in East Hararghe Zone.
They took this picture of a muddy pond to highlight
the critical shortage of safe drinking water in their
community, and how this affects adolescents’ education
and health. They explained that because the only
accessible water tap is hours away and there is
recurrent drought, during the rainy season the
community constructs small ponds which are used to
catch and store water for both humans and livestock.
The water is not clean and many people are
continuously ill, especially children. The illness has led to
school absenteeism.
They suggest that the government follow through on
its stated objective of bringing potable water to the
community in order to increase access to education and
health services .
A pond used for people and cattle © GAGE Ethiopia Participatory Research Team/GAGE 2019

17. Young girl carrying firewood to the market © Nathalie Bertrams / GAGE 2020
GAGE recommendations

18. Recommendations
1
• Ensure that children and young people’s unique perspectives and experiences inform climate change
adaptation strategies, especially through informing adolescents about climate change risks and mitigation
measures in school and encouraging girls’ active participation in community dialogues (SDG4, SDG5)
2
• Scale up access to age- and gender-responsive social protection to support adolescents and their caregivers
who are vulnerable to climate-related shocks (SGD1, SDG2, SG4, SDG 10).
3
• Strengthen health and WASH facilities to respond to changing disease patterns induced by climate change and
ensure psychosocial services are adapted to climate realities (SDG3, SDG4 SDG6).
4
• Address climate stressors in order to mitigate an important driver of intra-household and community-level
violence (SDG5, SDG16).

19. Download the report: ‘The first thing that
I fear for my future is lack of rain and
drought’: climate change and its impacts
on adolescent capabilities in low- and
middle-income countries | GAGE (odi.org)
Special issue call for papers
Interactions between Environmental, Economic
and Social Sustainability for Adolescent
Development
Sustainability
Guest editors: Dr. Nicola Jones, Ms Megan
Devonald, Dr Khadija Mitu
Deadline: 15th September 2021
More information: mdpi.com/si/79390

20. Contact Us
WEBSITE
www.gage.odi.org
TWITTER
@GAGE_programme
FACEBOOK
GenderandAdolescence
About GAGE:
 Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence
(GAGE) is a nine-year (2015-2024) mixed-
methods longitudinal research programme
focused on what works to support
adolescent girls’ and boys’ capabilities in the
second decade of life and beyond.
 We are following the lives of 18,000
adolescents in six focal countries in Africa,
Asia and the Middle East.