Strengthening Systems that Protect Every Child

Across Ethiopia, children continue to face growing vulnerabilities driven by poverty, displacement, family separation, economic hardship, climate-related shocks, and limited access to essential protection services. These challenges place many children at increased risk of violence, neglect, exploitation, and loss of parental care.  At the same time, gaps in policy implementation, legal frameworks, social protection systems, and care services continue to affect the ability of underserved children and young people to access consistent protection and long-term support. This particularly affects children without parental care and young people transitioning out of alternative care.

In response to these realities, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia continued in 2025 to strengthen its advocacy efforts toward building a more inclusive, coordinated, and child-centered protection system. Working closely with government institutions, civil society organizations, young people, and development partners. SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia focused on influencing national policies, strengthening legal and regulatory frameworks, and promoting systems that protect children’s rights and support family-based care.

Throughout the year, key progress was made in advancing child protection legislation, strengthening standards for young care leavers, amplifying children’s participation in policy processes, and promoting more inclusive social and climate policies. These efforts reflect a broader commitment to ensuring that every child in Ethiopia grows up protected, supported, and connected to a caring family and community.

Advancing national child protection legislation

A major milestone in 2025 was the continued progress toward the development of the first draft of the comprehensive Child Right and Protection Proclamation. SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia has been working since 2023 to support this process, beginning with a situational analysis and policy gap assessment that highlighted significant fragmentation in existing child protection legislation. To build national consensus, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, convened a national consultative meeting that brought together key stakeholders from government and civil society. This process led to the establishment of a Technical Working Group composed of 15 like-minded organizations, tasked with supporting the drafting of the comprehensive children’s law.

In 2025, the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs also led five national consultative sessions on the draft proclamation, engaging 129 representatives from the justice sector, law enforcement institutions, academia, national human rights bodies, civil society organizations, and the media. SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia supported these processes financially and technically, including the engagement of a legal consultant to guide the drafting process. A key milestone within this journey was the meaningful participation of children themselves, with 43 child parliamentarians from Addis Ababa actively contributing to discussions on different occasions. Their engagement ensured that children’s lived experiences and priorities were reflected in the emerging legal framework.

Support for youth transitioning from care

Another landmark achievement in 2025 was the official launch of the Minimum Standard for Preparation of Leaving Care and Aftercare Support, led by the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs on 11 June 2025. This marks a significant step forward in ensuring that young people transitioning out of alternative care systems are supported to do so with dignity, safety, and opportunity. SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia has supported this process over the past three years through technical input, capacity building, and facilitation of national consultations involving government institutions, care providers, and young care leavers.

The standard now provides a national framework to guide care institutions and public services on transition planning, aftercare support, and minimum age requirements for leaving care, set at 18 years. Importantly, the standards also strengthen the recognition of young care leavers within national systems, ensuring their access to essential services in education, health, and livelihoods.

Learning from global experience to strengthen national systems

To further inform Ethiopia’s child protection reform process, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia facilitated experience-sharing visits to Kenya and Mauritius in 2025, bringing together representatives from the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, Ministry of Justice, and the House of Peoples’ Representatives. The visit to Kenya provided important lessons on the development of a comprehensive Child Act, particularly the importance of inclusive law-making processes, strong inter-sectoral coordination, and the integration of child participation throughout legislative reform.

The visit to Mauritius highlighted the value of consolidated child protection frameworks anchored in a single legal instrument, supported by strong institutions such as child ombudsperson mechanisms, social protection systems, and child-friendly justice structures. It also underscored the importance of sustained investment and multi-stakeholder collaboration to ensure effective implementation. These insights are now informing Ethiopia’s ongoing efforts to develop a unified and comprehensive child rights legal framework.

Advancing inclusion in climate and social policy

Recognizing that children, young people, and women are also affected by broader development challenges, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia engaged in national and regional advocacy on gender-responsive and inclusive climate policy. At the Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa, the organization advocated for stronger inclusion of children and young people in climate and green economy policies. This was further reinforced through a national workshop under the GROW EQUAL project, which brought together government, civil society, and development partners to discuss gaps in Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy framework.

Discussions highlighted key challenges, including limited gender integration in national climate indicators and implementation gaps in existing policies, reinforcing the need for more inclusive and actionable climate governance at local level.

Priorities for 2026

Building on the progress achieved, SOS Children’s Villages in Ethiopia continues to focus its advocacy efforts on four key priorities in 2026:

• Continued advocacy for the adoption of the comprehensive Child Right and Protection Proclamation
• Local-level advocacy to strengthen gender and inclusion in climate and green economy policies and address implementation gaps
• Support for the implementation of the National Minimum Standard for Leaving Care and Aftercare Support
• Development and adoption of a national Care Professional Curriculum to strengthen workforce capacity in alternative care systems

The progress made in 2025 demonstrates growing national momentum toward a more coordinated, inclusive, and rights-based child protection system in Ethiopia. From legislative reform to strengthening care systems and amplifying the voices of children and young people, these efforts are laying the foundation for lasting change.

At the heart of this work is a shared commitment: ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, supportive, and loving environment, and that no young person leaves care without the protection and opportunities they need to thrive.