Hailemariam & Roman Foundation (HRF), in partnership with the Southern Ethiopia Region Bureau of Finance and the FDRE Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO), successfully conducted a three-day training session from August 4-6, 2025. The event brought together 45 participants, including representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, MEAL experts from South Ethiopian Region Bureau of Finance , key zonal government sectors, MEAL experts from South Omo Zone and four project target woredas (Hamer, Bena Tsemay, Dasenech & Nyngatom).
Mr. Tesfaye Falaha, Chief of the Agricultural Transformation, Food & Nutrition Security Project at HRF, emphasized that among the project’s main themes, establishing and strengthening coordination mechanisms is key to harnessing collaboration of government and NGOs’ projects towards realizing improved food and nutrition security in South Omo Zone. He stated that the training is aimed to enhance the capacity of MEAL experts from different government sectors and offices for effectively coordinating, monitoring & supporting, and evaluating projects managed by both government agencies and civil society organizations (CSOs) within the South Omo Zone.
Both as a conclusive event of the training and GO-CSO coordination meeting, together with the trained government sector MEAL experts, heads of sector offices and CSO representatives operating in South Omo Zone, a fruitful discussion on principles and guidelines of GO-CSO joint operational issues was conducted. In this coordination meeting about 30 CSOs operating in the South Omo zone were represented. This particular high level and multi-stakeholders forum ended up with establishing zonal GO-CSO platform with the aim to create a well-coordinated and harmonious GO- CSO partnership in the area.
Mr. Daniel Gizaw, ACSO’s Basic Service Executive Officer and Management Member, underscored the significance of government–civil society collaboration under Proclamation No. 1113/2019. He remarked that the new law represents a shift from a previously “hostile relationship” to a more “constructive partnership” with civil society organizations.
He also praised HRF’s efforts in building trust and fostering productive relationships, highlighting its work in providing capacity building for government institutions and other development partners, as well as promoting transparency and accountability across its initiatives.
Participants emphasized the high value of the sessions, highlighting the essential skills they gained for effectively conducting supportive supervision and evaluating both civil society and government initiatives.
The discussions wrapped up with a strong reaffirmation to strengthening collaboration among government sectors, civil society organizations, and private partners.
