Swedish Development Cooperation with Ethiopia: Sixty Years of Lessons Learned

Summary

This evaluation report covers around 60 years of Swedish support to Ethiopia, starting from 1960. Alongside strategic issues affecting all
sectors, it focuses on the three clusters:

1) rural development,
2) education and
3) democratisation and human rights (including
gender equality).

Given that so much time is covered, the evaluation is based on a strong understanding of the historical context.

Sweden is a mid-level, bilateral donor to Ethiopia and its aid is more stable compared to other main donors. This stability has built a strong reputation for Sweden among Ethiopian stakeholders as a reliable, long-term ally. Helping reinforce this perception of Sweden is its ‘middle power’ status, the relatively minor role of geopolitical interests in Swedish foreign policy (compared to larger Western powers like the US) and the comparative independence of Sida compared to other aid agencies. Econometric analysis also shows that the volume of aid to Ethiopia does not change significantly when there is a change of government in Sweden.

In addition to long-term, more stable engagement, the evidence also suggests that Sweden has played a more active leadership role among donors to Ethiopia than would be suggested by the volume of its aid. Firstly, Sida has been actively involved in leading donor coordinating mechanisms in Ethiopia, such as Development Assistant Groups (DAG). Secondly, econometric analysis suggests that (in some sectors at least) other donors to Ethiopia follow what Sida is doing. This implies that, alongside its formal coordinating , Sweden may also have played an informal leadership role.