SeeD worked in collaboration with Interpeace, the Ministry of Peace of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and ABCON PLC on the pilot Ethiopian Peace Index (EPI) in 2022-2023, funded by the Royal Government of the Netherlands. The pilot phase of the EPI focused on three regions in Ethiopia: Sidama region, the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region, and the Southwest Ethiopian Peoples region.

The EPI is a unique tool for understanding the state of peace and resilience in Ethiopia, with further analysis on the complexities of conflict and peacebuilding. It also operationalised a new approach to bottom-up and participatory measurement that would provide evidence-based strategies for local and international actors dedicated to fostering peace and reconciliation in the country.

The Index used a participatory quantitative methodology in the three aforementioned regions. Through a comprehensive analysis of data collected from citizens, traditional leaders, and Kebele administrators across 101 Kebeles, the Ethiopian Peace Index has quantified and measured various factors influencing peace, including economic, social, psychological, attitudinal, behavioural, and environmental dimensions.

SeeD also implemented a multi-sectoral initiative in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State to improve university access for up to 1,000 economically disadvantaged and special needs schoolgirls in Assosa and Bambasi. The project aimed to remove key barriers to girls' education by strengthening community and family support, improving academic performance and life skills, and promoting gender-equitable governance in education across regional and local levels. Activities included teacher training for psychosocial support, life skills sessions for adolescents, and targeted academic tutoring. Leaflet link: https://api.scoreforpeace.org/storage/pdfs/DOC_Ethiopia23_Project-Summary_MHPSS_final-(1).pdf

In 2025, SeeD completed its work on Multi-Family Healing Spaces (MFHS) Benishangul-Gumuz in Ethiopia, supporting Cuso International’s wider efforts to improve educational access for economically disadvantaged schoolgirls and girls with special needs in Assosa and Bambasi. The broader programme aimed to reduce barriers to girls’ education through a holistic, multi-sectoral approach addressing family support, academic performance, leadership, autonomy, and gender-equitable education systems.

The intervention was situated in a context where girls’ education is shaped by challenges at multiple levels, including the individual, family, school, teacher, community, and governance levels. Existing programme activities included teacher training on psychosocial support for conflict-exposed students, life skills training for adolescents, and tutorial classes for students facing academic difficulties. These activities provided a strong school-based foundation, but there was a need to better address family and community-based barriers affecting girls’ education.

SeeD’s contribution focused on strengthening the evidence base for more comprehensive intervention design. Through the MFHS approach, the project explored how family systems, psychosocial wellbeing, community attitudes, and educational aspirations interact to affect girls’ participation and success in formal education.

By bringing a family- and community-centred lens to the programme, SeeD helped identify entry points for interventions that respond to the wider social and emotional conditions affecting girls’ education in Benishangul-Gumuz. The project supported partners in linking psychosocial support, family engagement, and education outcomes, contributing to more grounded and responsive programming for girls and their families.