Plan first started working in Ethiopia in 1974, to help poor children to access their rights to health, education, protection and participation.

We promote child rights and work to ensure that children, families and communities are active participants in their own development – from identifying problems to implementing solutions.

One example is the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach, which Plan Ethiopia has promoted since February 2007. CLTS inspires whole communities to stop defecating out in the open, contaminating food and water supplies.  So far Fura and Sedeka kebeles in Shebedino, and Busa and Merewa kebeles in Jimma have achieved and celebrated open defecation-free environments.