Key Points
Adapting the developmental state model applied in fast-growing Asian economies, the Ethiopian state designed a set of pro-poor policies and generated the government income necessary to implement them successfully.
Donors played a key role in Ethiopia’s stunting reduction story by contributing resources, especially in the health sector, but the Ethiopian government has successfully coordinated the actions of various donors under its motto “One Budget, One Plan, One Report.”
Ethiopia’s unique brand of decentralization, which provided local authorities with the power to implement but not to make policy, has created accountability for the quality of service while allowing for an unusually coherent set of government priorities across the country.
Especially in recent years, the government has increased investment in data collection and analysis as a key part of its push to improve the quality of services.
The community health system, created at scale over a very short period of time, helped provide the vast majority of Ethiopians who received no health care with access to basic services.