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Ethiopia is increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change, with stark consequences for the most disadvantaged groups, including youth, women and girls. Within climate action, there is limited understanding of how climate change responses address age and gender vulnerabilities. This article uses a gender and adolescence lens to explore how Ethiopia's climate mitigation and adaptation responses shape progress towards three Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 (gender equality) targets using a capabilities approach. It draws on qualitative data from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) longitudinal study with adolescents aged 10–20, their parents and key informants, in three diverse regions. It finds that although climate mitigation strategies (including gender-sensitive social protection measures) are impacting gender equality positively by increasing access to water and supporting food-insecure households in times of drought, substantial challenges remain. The findings underscore that while climate actions are increasingly gender-responsive, they are less responsive to the age-specific vulnerabilities of adolescents, especially girls. To accelerate progress and ensure inclusive climate action, adolescent participation should be promoted at all levels, and climate actions should reach the most vulnerable populations, including those in remote rural communities and particularly vulnerable groups such as married adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The Covid‐19 pandemic delivered an unprecedented shock to education systems globally, with school closures affecting 1.6 billion children. Education systems in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) are facing significant budget cuts further constraining capacities to adapt to Covid‐19 impacts. The need for evidence to inform policy dialogues about how best to mitigate impacts and support education systems to "build back better" is pressing. Purpose: In Ethiopia, schools reopened in October 2020 after a seven‐month pandemic‐related closure. Employing an adapted resilience systems analysis framework, this article focuses on the extent to which Ethiopia's education system—which has in recent decades seen rapid progress in enrolment rates—has adapted to the impacts of the pandemic on adolescents' education and learning, and has achieved this equitably. Methods and approach: The article draws on mixed‐methods data from Ethiopia collected virtually with a pre‐existing cohort of 3,066 adolescents (1,683 girls and 1,383 boys) during the immediate onset of the pandemic (April–June 2020) and following the reopening of schools (November 2020–February 2021). Adolescent perspectives are complemented by 27 key informant interviews at community and district levels. Findings: Rural adolescents, girls, and adolescents with disabilities were less likely to access distance education during school closures due to connectivity challenges and discriminatory norms, and to subsequently re‐enrol. Implementation of adaptive measures, including hygiene guidance, smaller class sizes, and catch‐up classes, has been highly uneven, and outreach to support re‐enrolment of socially marginalized adolescents has been very limited. Policy implications: For LMICs like Ethiopia to build back better post‐pandemic and stay on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4's commitment to inclusive and equitable quality education for all, scaled‐up investments in blended learning approaches, addressing the digital divide, and ensuring targeted outreach and social protection to support re‐enrolment of socially marginalized adolescents are critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Motivation: Although many countries have made progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on inclusive and equitable education for all, vulnerable children and adolescents in low‐income countries often face significant barriers to realizing educational opportunities, especially at secondary and post‐secondary or tertiary levels. Purpose: In line with the aim of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to "leave no one behind", the article explores the factors that shape the educational trajectories of vulnerable population groups and contributes to evidence‐informed policy and programming to tackle school dropout in rural Ethiopia. Approach and Methods: The article draws on qualitative research on 150 girls and boys aged 10–19 years, along with their caregivers and key informants, in communities from three diverse regions in Ethiopia: pastoralist Afar, highland Amhara, and lowland Oromia. Findings: Although Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in increasing secondary enrolment since 2000, intersecting barriers put vulnerable adolescents' educational opportunities at risk. Children and adolescents from poor households, those with disabilities, and who are internally displaced, out‐of‐school or working face a range of challenges at the household, community and system levels. These barriers are also shaped by gender norms that restrict adolescent girls' and boys' education, often in contrasting ways. Policy Implications: A multi‐pronged approach is critical to promoting educational opportunities that leave no adolescent behind, including investments in school quality, positive disciplinary approaches, competency‐based grade progression, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and school‐feeding programmes; the wider enabling environment, including social protection and safe, subsidized transport; initiatives to tackle age‐ and gender‐based violence that discourages school attendance; and tailored strategies to support the most vulnerable young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]