Internship

World Food Programme of the United Nations - Ethiopia

Ethiopia has made important development gains over the past two decades, reducing poverty and expanding investments in basic social services. However, food insecurity and under-nutrition still hinder economic growth. In 2015 it ranked 174 out of 188 in the UNDP Human Development Report.

The country is also home to the second largest refugee population on the continent; it currently hosts 909,000 registered refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Kenya. 2016 was a challenging year for Ethiopia as it suffered from the worst El Niño impact in the last 50 years. The onset of El Niño combined with failed Belg (spring harvest) and Meher (main harvest) rains in 2015 left 10.2 million people in need of emergency food and nutrition assistance.

While the Government and partners averted a major humanitarian catastrophe, the drought has left a negative legacy on many families, who lost livestock and other productive assets. The residual needs from the past year have been compounded by a new and devastating drought which hit Ethiopia and other parts of the Horn of Africa in early 2017. In  August 2017, the Government of Ethiopia released the Mid-Year Humanitarian Requirements Document which outlined the need to support 8.5 million people with emergency food, nutrition, health, water and education programmes.

WFP supports the Ethiopian Government through a range of life-saving and resilience-building activities as well as providing assistance in refugee camps. We use food, cash, nutrition assistance and innovative approaches to improve nutrition, empower women, build local capacities and enhance preparedness to climate-related shocks.

Opportunity

WFP Ethiopia Country Office seeks (1) graduate (BSc), and post-graduate (MSc) students looking for field-based dissertation topics, (2) BSc and MSc students already graduated within a year, looking for opportunity hands-on work experience, and (3) researchers looking for settings where to develop operational research topics. Background: Nutrition/Public Health/Epidemiology, Food Technology, Communication, Social Sciences, Climate Change, Logistics, Engineering, Economy and any other field related to food and nutrition.

More information

  • What? The interns will be integrated into WFP existing and/or about-to-start programmes. The potential areas include (1) integrated nutrition and food security surveillance, (2) treatment of moderate acute malnutrition, (3) development of social behavioural change communication to reduce stunting and wasting,
    (4)interlinkages between HIV and malnutrition, (5) food fortification, (6) nutrition advocacy, strategic evidence-based policy- and decision-making, (7) social protection in food insecure households.
  • When? Candidate can apply anytime during the year.
  • •Where? According to the Terms of Reference (ToR) and the deliverables of the internship, the candidate will be placed either at WFP Country Office (Addis Abeba) and/or at the provincial Sub-Offices.
  • Supervised by who? Administratively the interns will be supervised by a WFP line manager. The ToR and the deliverables will be agreed by and with the candidate, eventually with the tutor of the institution of origin and WFP.
  • For how long? The duration of the internship will depend on the nature of the ToR and its deliverables.
  • Which kind of support? WFP has limited resources for support to internship programmes. Therefore, candidates are encouraged to rely on their own means of support for living, and international / national travel costs. WFP can cover at least the intern health insurance. Additional WFP support can be put under consideration in case of strong candidatures.


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