Ethiopia: New refugee support centre opens in Addis Ababa

What the report says

France24 Africa reported that the UN refugee agency and Ethiopia’s government have opened a new refugee support centre in Addis Ababa. The centre is intended to offer refugees free legal guidance and help them access essential services, according to the report, which was issued on July 18, 2026, and filed from the Ethiopian capital by Tom Canetti.

The initiative is designed to help refugees deal with administrative procedures, secure important documents and improve their prospects of finding employment. France24 said the centre is part of an effort to reduce bureaucratic barriers that can prevent displaced people from accessing services or entering the labour market.

Ethiopia is a major refugee-hosting country, with France24 reporting that it shelters more than one million refugees, making it the third-largest host country in Africa. That scale gives added importance to services that can connect refugees with documentation, legal advice and livelihood opportunities, particularly in an urban setting such as Addis Ababa.

The publicly available article is brief and appears to accompany a video report, so it does not provide further details on the centre’s exact location, funding level, staffing or eligibility rules. More broadly, legal documentation and access to work are common challenges for refugees in host countries, and support centres can serve as a bridge between displaced communities, government offices and humanitarian agencies.