Building Ethiopia's Consortium for Integration of Population, Health, and Environment

(May 2009) Population growth, stresses on natural resources, loss of biodiversity, and poverty present obstacles to development, but these challenges are interrelated. To be addressed, organizations, donors, and governments need a holistic approach that incorporates various programs and sectors, facilitates communication across sectors, and breaks down barriers to integrated work. This is the lesson of the launch of Ethiopia’s PRB-supported Consortium for Integration of Population, Health, and Environment (CIPHE), a network of over 60 nongovernmental organizations, international donors, academic institutions, media outlets, and government ministries that seeks to enhance understanding of linkages between population, health, and the environment and promote integration for sustainable development.

Jason Bremner, program director, Population, Health, and Environment at PRB, discussed the process of forming and building the consortium, the reasons for its successful development, and its future plans with Negash Teklu, CIPHE’s coordinator.