DoC Livelihood Interventions in Tigray Following the development of five year strategic plan by DoC-Tigray, CAFOD supported different programs of DoC for the past 3 years that were designed to serve the holistic needs of the poor with renewed energy, confidence and commitment .DoC’s interventions were designed to contribute to the future where poverty is eradicated and all disadvantaged people enjoy equitable access to development opportunities and benefits, building on the extensive experience gained over a number of years since its establishment in Tigray.

Youth and women are among the main priority groups within the DoC programs that are surrounded with multifaceted socio economic challenges. In general there have been insufficient employment opportunities for the youth in spite of the various efforts made by different stakeholders including the government. Employment levels vary strongly by location, gender, education and age. Accordingly, DoC will continue to adopt the following strategies to address the socio-economic  challenges of the youth:
•	Promote all rounded development to the targeted youth where income generating initiatives will be the center of focus through creating multiple employment opportunities by which the youth will become not only economically and socially strong but also healthy and responsible.
•	Promote and ensure access for the unemployed youth to appropriate skill training that reflects the economic and social needs of the youth. The training programs should be implemented through innovative methods in order to increase their practical skills. 
•	DOC will work to develop and implement strategies for creating alternative employment opportunities and provide required training to young men and women in close collaboration with relevant Government and NGOs, including representatives and associations of the youth.
•	Promote the participation of young people in project identification and problem assessment, design, implementation and follow-up.
•	Promote their strengths, through recognizing the inherent potential of youth, based upon their access to assets and their coping and adaptive strategies developed to deal with life’s challenges.
Though women constitute almost half of the entire population in Tigray, with a significant contribution to the economic development, the majority of them do not enjoy the fruits of development as equally as their male counterparts. Women’s powerlessness often increases in extreme poverty, while men most often have the decision making powers over the household resources, regarding the distribution of income, assets and concerning opportunities, for example, employment, benefits entitlements, etc. Strategies adopted by DoC to address these challenges include:
•	Continue women promotion activities by capitalizing on past experience . 
•	Promoting more equitable relationships within the family to improve the position of the most vulnerable members: women and children. The roles of the different family members need to be discussed and addressed. 
•	Enhance the capacity of women entrepreneurs to become competent and self-reliant in the area of business and marketing by providing them with adequate training skills in their specialization. 
•	Address the practical needs of women by enhancing the capacity and capability of women to adopt sustainable income generation activities through explicit attempts to include the poorest women.
•	Promote an improved access to resources and to services, improved skills and reduced discrimination, through adequate assessment of the wider development opportunities for supporting women
•	Promote gender mainstreaming where women’s and men’s concerns and experiences are integral to the design implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all programs of DOC.