Youth unemployment in the East Gojjam Zone is a critical issue. This study focuses onidentifying the factors that influence unemployment duration and evaluating the impact ofjob creation programs on the well-being of youth in this region. We employed Cox regres-sion to analyze the determinants of unemployment duration and used propensity scorematching to assess the welfare effects of job creation initiatives. Our multistage clustersampling revealed a youth unemployment rate of 33.3% (95% CI: 27.3–39.3). Over half ofthe unemployed youth transitioned to employment within four years, with 25% securingjobs within two years. Participation in job creation programs led to an average earningsincrease of 1,069.716 birr, though retention in these programs was low at 49%. The find-ings reveal a connection between prolonged unemployment, skill mismatches, financialconstraints, limited work experience, weak social networks, low income, and a preferencefor public-sector employment. To effectively address these challenges, interventions mustfocus on improving job accessibility, aligning vocational training with labor market needs,promoting financial inclusion, and enhancing social support systems.

ABSTRACT Background: Blood donation is vital for saving lives, yet Ethiopia faces chronic shortages. Bridging the gap between willingness and actual donation is essential for sustaining blood supplies. This study examined socio-demographic, psychological, and contextual factors influencing blood donation intention and practice in East Gojjam Zone. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey of 1,332 urban adults who met inclusion criteria was conducted using multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected via a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics summarized donation patterns, while binary logistic and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial regressions identified predictors of donation intention and frequency, respectively. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) examined associations among socio-demographic characteristics, psychological factors, donation intention, practice, and behavior. Results: Although 74.8% (95% CI: 72.5–77.1) expressed willingness to donate, only 28.8% (95% CI: 26.4–31.2) had ever donated, and 20.7% (95% CI: 18.5–22.9) had donated in the past two years. Male gender, younger age, higher education, and employment in health or education sectors positively predicted intention and practice. Psychological factors—including self-efficacy (β = 0.53), positive attitudes (β = 0.46), knowledge (β = 0.38), altruism, and social influence (β = 0.28)—were strongly associated with donation. SEM confirmed that intention strongly predicted actual donation (β = 0.62). Barriers included fear of needles, health concerns, and limited awareness. Conclusions: Despite high willingness, actual donation remains low. Multi-sectoral, culturally sensitive strategies—addressing fears, improving knowledge, leveraging social influence, and enhancing accessibility—are critical, especially for women, older adults, and less-educated individuals, to build a resilient, community-driven blood supply. Keywords: Blood donation, intention, practice, socio-demographic factors, psychological determinants, Ethiopia, Structural Equation Modeling

ABSTRACT Background: Blood donation is vital for saving lives, yet Ethiopia faces chronic shortages. Bridging the gap between willingness and actual donation is essential for sustaining blood supplies. This study examined socio-demographic, psychological, and contextual factors influencing blood donation intention and practice in East Gojjam Zone. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey of 1,332 urban adults who met inclusion criteria was conducted using multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected via a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics summarized donation patterns, while binary logistic and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial regressions identified predictors of donation intention and frequency, respectively. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) examined associations among socio-demographic characteristics, psychological factors, donation intention, practice, and behavior. Results: Although 74.8% (95% CI: 72.5–77.1) expressed willingness to donate, only 28.8% (95% CI: 26.4–31.2) had ever donated, and 20.7% (95% CI: 18.5–22.9) had donated in the past two years. Male gender, younger age, higher education, and employment in health or education sectors positively predicted intention and practice. Psychological factors—including self-efficacy (β = 0.53), positive attitudes (β = 0.46), knowledge (β = 0.38), altruism, and social influence (β = 0.28)—were strongly associated with donation. SEM confirmed that intention strongly predicted actual donation (β = 0.62). Barriers included fear of needles, health concerns, and limited awareness. Conclusions: Despite high willingness, actual donation remains low. Multi-sectoral, culturally sensitive strategies—addressing fears, improving knowledge, leveraging social influence, and enhancing accessibility—are critical, especially for women, older adults, and less-educated individuals, to build a resilient, community-driven blood supply. Keywords: Blood donation, intention, practice, socio-demographic factors, psychological determinants, Ethiopia, Structural Equation Modeling

Introduction Vaccination is a critical public health intervention that significantly reduces morbidity and mortalityamong children. Despite its importance, vaccination coverage remains suboptimal in many regions, including EastGojam, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. This study investigated the sociodemographic, economic, and cultural determinantsof vaccination status among pediatric populations in East Gojam.Methods Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 1,900 respondents, categorizing vaccinationstatus as not vaccinated, partially vaccinated, or fully vaccinated. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyzethe impact of predictors such as child age, gender, parental education level, household income, geographic location,access to healthcare, trust in healthcare providers, sources of vaccination information, cultural beliefs, and perceivedgovernment support for vaccination.Results The results revealed that higher parental education levels and urban residence positively influence vac-cination status. Older children were less likely to be fully vaccinated, indicating a need for targeted outreach. Accessto healthcare services and trust in healthcare providers significantly promoted vaccination, whereas negative culturalbeliefs and misinformation adversely affected vaccination status. Perceived government support for vaccinationwas also a significant predictor.Conclusion This study concludes that addressing these multifaceted determinants through educational programs,improved healthcare access, trust-building initiatives, accurate information dissemination, stronger governmentalsupport, targeted outreach for older children, community engagement, and multisectoral collaboration can enhancevaccination coverage and improve public health outcomes in East Gojam and similar settings.Keywords Vaccination, Pediatric populations, Ethiopia, Sociodemographic factors, Health services accessibility,Cultural beliefs, Trust in healthcare providers, Parental education, Multinomial logistic regression

This study investigates the dynamics of instability among the Amhara people in Ethiopia following the political reform of 2018. It examines the main causes, key actors, phases of instability, and possible remedies. Employing a mixed-method research design, the study collected data through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis. Thematic and descriptive analyses were used to interpret the findings. The research reveals that the ongoing instability in the Amhara region since 2018 involves multiple actors and has both historical and contemporary roots. Deep-seated historical contradictions, coupled with a regressive political culture, have contributed to the persistence of unrest. Left-wing ethnically based political parties that perceive the Amhara as historical adversaries—alongside power struggles within the ruling coalition, merged as central drivers of instability. Beyond external political forces such as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), internal factions like the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) also played direct and indirect roles. Additionally, influential activists have further intensified the region’s instability. Factors such as public euphoria following the 2018 reform, the weakening of state institutions, perceived political dominance of the ODP, divisions among Amhara elites, the outbreak of the Tigray war, and shortages of agricultural inputs like fertiliser have collectively fueled the unrest. By categorising the instability into three distinct phases, the study offers a comprehensive understanding of its evolution. Ultimately, it concludes that inclusive political dialogue, mutual understanding among major actors, and national consensus are essential pathways toward restoring stability and peace in the Amhara region.
  Keywords: Amhara, Causes, Instability, actors, Ethiopia, Remedies

Weather information (WI) related reliability problems and constraints are commonly reported factors forfarmers’ adaptation decisions to climate-induced impacts in Ethiopia. However, the level of reliability of theWI, kinds of the WI constraints, and how these constraints impede farmers’ adaptation decisions have notsystematically been studied. The present study investigated the reliability and constraints of WI from farmers’perspective in East Gojjam Zone. Three hundred fifty-eight farm households were selected from three woredasthrough random sampling. Interview surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews wereapplied to generate quantitative and qualitative datasets. Frequency, mean score, and correlation wereemployed to analyze the quantitative dataset, while descriptive-interpretative method was used to analyzethe qualitative ones. The findings disclosed that farmers in the study area have diverse WI sources thoughonly farmers’ own experiences and development agents were perceived to be reliable sources for them.The correlation coefficient results confirmed that the number of WI sources had significant positive relationswith family size, and farmland size, while it had a non-significant negative correlation with the farm experiencesof the household heads. The study also identified a range of socioeconomic, demographic and institutional factors, and programming mechanisms and information contents of which the four top that negatively affect farmers’ adaptation decisions were spatial ambiguity, lack of trust, lack of information about the seasonal onset, itsend, and its distribution within the season. To guide farmers’ effective adaptation decisions, these constraints inthe information contents of the WI have to be resolved.KeywordsWeather information, reliability, constraints, East Gojjam, Ethiopia 

ዐውድማ ሰብልን ለመውቃት ኣገልግሎት የሚውል በክብ ቅርጽ የሚዘጋጅ የራሱ የሆነ ሃይማኖታዊ ባህላዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ይትባህል ያለው በሃገራአችን ኢትዮጵያ ዘመን ተሻጋሪ ተግባር ነው። የዐውድማ ተግባር የጾታ፣ የ እድሜ እና መሰል ነገሮች የማይለያዩት ሁሉም በህብረት የሚመለከተውን ድርሻ የሚወጣበት፣ እንስሳቱም አስተዋጽኦ የሚያደርጉበት የአርሶአደሩ የመጨረሻ ውጤት የሚታይበት፣ ገለባው ለንእስሳት መኖ የሚሰበሰብበት ክዋኔ ነው።የዚህ ምርምር ዋና አላማ ዐውድማ በጎጃም አርሶ አደሮች ዘንድ ያለውን ባህላዊ፣ ሃይማኖታዊ እና ማህበራዊ ትውፊት በዐውዱ መተንተን፣ መሰነድ እና በሂደቱ ውስጥ የሚኖረውን የምርት ብክነት መንስኤዎችን መግለጽ ነው፡፡ ጥናቱ ያተኮረው በጤፍ፣ በስንዴና በገብስ ሰብሎች ላይ ነው። ጥናቱ  በምሥራቅ ጎጃም ዞን መልክአ ምድሩን መሠረት አድርጎ በተመረጡ ወረዳዎች ላይ ትኩረቱን አድርጓል፡፡ እነዚህም በደጋ፣ ወይና ደጋ እና ቆላማ ቦታዎች ላይ ትኩረት ተደርጎ የተመረጡ ናቸው፡፡ ጥናቱን የተሟላ ለማድረግ በፌኖሚኖሎጅ ዘዴ መረጃውን ከሚያውቁት ሰዎችና ከሚገኙበት ቦታ ድረስ በመሔድ በመስክ የቀጥታ ምልከታ ከቀዳማይ ምንጮች ለመሰብሰብ የሚያስችል ተጨባጭ የምርምር ዘዴ ነው፡፡ በመሆኑም በሃገራችን ኢትዮጵያ በተለይ በመረጥነው የምርምር ቦታ ዐውድማ ሃይማኖታዊ፣ ባህላዊ፣ ማህበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጠቀሜት ያለው ከትውልድ ትውልድ ሲተላለፍ የመጣ የራሱ የሆነ ስነቃሎች ያሉት ጠቃሚ ስርዓት ነው። ነገር ግን አሁን ስርዓቱ እየቀዘቀዘ መምጣቱን እና አብሮነት እና መተጋገዝ እየጠፋ አቅመደካሞች በጋራ(ከብት የሌለው በጉልበቱ) የሚለውን ይትብሃል እንዳይጎለብት፣ በዐውድማ ክዋኔ ወቅት የሚኖረውን የምርት ብክነት ብቻ በማየት ጠቀሜታውን በመዘንጋት ወደ ዘመናዊ ኮምባይነር የመቀየር ተግባር መኖሩን በመረጃ ማረጋገጥ ተችሏል። አሁን በሚኖረው ሁኔታ በዐውድማ ስርዓት የሚኖሩ ሃይማኖታዊ፣ ባህላዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ክዋኔዎች በዚሁ ከቀጠሉ የሚረሱ እና የሚኖረው እሴት የሚጠፋ መሆኑን ድምዳሜ ላይ መድረስ ይቻላል። በመሆኑም እንደ ኢትዮጵያ ያሉ ሃገራት(የአርሶአደሩ የመሬት ጥበት፣ መልካምድሩ ገባ ወጣ ማለት፣የሰው ሃይል በብዛት ያለበት፣ለአቅመ ደካሞች የሚኖረውን ፋይዳ በመዘንጋት፣ የሰብሉ አደራረስ በተለያየ ጊዜ በሚደርስበት ወዘተ) ዐውድማ አስፈላአጊ ስርዓት በመሆኑ የሚመለከተው አካል ትኩረት እንዲሰጠው ማመላከት እንወዳለን።

Abstract
Unemployment, particularly graduate unemployment, brings a huge impact on the community. Thus, the fundamental purpose of the study was to examine the socioeconomic challenges of graduate unemployment in the community. To do this, descriptive research with a cross-sectional design was used to reckon the socioeconomic challenges of graduate unemployment in the community, and a mixed research approach was employed. Accordingly, 279 survey respondents, 6 unemployed graduates, 5 parents of job seekers for the interview, six discussants, and 3 key informants were selected by employed stratified, simple random, and purposive sampling methods. The data which are obtained from survey questionnaires were analyzed through descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analyzed by narration and thematic. Hereof, the findings depict that families of jobseekers and their community members have faced economic and social-related troubles. Thus, it brings economic bankruptcy, family strain, menanced for social security, and young students have low interest in education because of the presence of graduate unemployment.




Keywords: Communiy, family, socioeconomic effects, unemployment

This study aims at exploring the potentials and drawbacks of utilizing social media to promote tourism industry in East Gojjam Zone. The study will be geographically limited to East Gojjam Zone and will not include media platforms other than social media. The research will bring significance to the culture and tourism offices, agencies that work on tourism industry and an input for the government organizations in policy formulation as well as for future researchers. Qualitative research approach with descriptive design will be employed. The population of this study is social media pages of Culture and Tourism Offices of all the woredas found in East Gojjam Zone and of the Zones’ Culture and Tourism Department. The sample will be purposive sampling of all social media pages of the woredas and the zone. Focus group discussion and indepth interview will be conducted in eight selected woredas and zonal culture and tourism office. East Gojjam Zone has 19 woredas including Debre Markos town. The data will be gathered using content analysis of the social media posts, focus group discussion and in-depth interview. In addition, data will also be collected from reports, and publications like newsletters and articles.To collect the data official support letter will be submitted to the Culture and Tourism Department of East Gojjam Zone. The authenticity of social media pages of the woreda tourism offices will be confirmed with the concerned bodies at the zonal level. The collected data using online content, in-depth interview and focus group discussion will be triangulated for data analysis. The researchers expect to find out social media usage patterns and preferences in tourism promotion, social media promotion strategies and implementation, social media regulation and governance in tourism promotion. Atotal budget of 201, 722 ETB will be allocated to conduct the whole study from April to September, 2024. 

Journalists usually struggle to maintain private affairs with their professional responsibili-ties while practising journalism. This article scrutinizes the interplay between journal-ists’ professional and individual exposures and its impacts on the culture of journalismpractice in the Ethiopian state media perspective of Amhara Media Corporation (AMC).Qualitative research method, along with in-depth interviews and document analysis,was used to collect data. Semi-structured questions were forwarded to twelve purpo-sively selected journalists working in AMC. Individual-level analysis of the Hierarchy ofInfluences Model (HIM) and Individual Level of Branding were applied as theoreticaltemplates. Findings reveal that journalists’ journalistic contents are exposed to numer-ous occupational-level perspectives. Individual backgrounds and professional dilemmasjournalists face are the dominant challenges while practising professional journalism.Journalists’ academic qualifications and upbringing do have strong linkages with theirculture of journalism practice. The interface between sensitive reporting on politics, ethnic-ity, religion and professionalism is seen resulted in eroding journalistic integrity and creat-ing professional dilemmas among journalists in Ethiopia. It is recommended that mediaorganizations have comprehensible working guidelines and editorial policies to alleviate
he blurred lines between individual exposures and the professionalism of journalists inEthiopia.Keywords: hierarchy of influences model, ideological branding, individual-level analysis,journalist background, sensitive reporting, political stance, professional dilemma