Ethiopia

On the 12th of June 2008, the Government of Ethiopia launched the “Revised Humanitarian Requirements for 2008”. The document was developed in collaboration with humanitarian partners. The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) of the Ethiopian government announced that the number of emergency relief beneficiaries increased since April 2008 from 2.2 to 4.6 million people. The food security situation has been rapidly deteriorating in Ethiopia as a consequence of a complex set of factors. The poor performance of the winter rains combined with the present below normal summer rains and the prevailing high market prices resulted in food insecurity and forced people to resort to extreme coping mechanisms in Oromiya and SNNPR. The humanitarian situation remains of deep concern in the Somali region, where signs of a deteriorating health and nutrition situation have been reported and access conditions in the Ogaden area are still very volatile.  
Thousands of children under five are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition as extrapolated from data gathered through WFP’s Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) Unit and through DPPA’s Early Warning Department and Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit (ENCU). The government estimates that 75,000 children are severely malnourished in the 124 districts currently affected by the drought which are having screening capacity either through therapeutic feeding or targeted supplementary food programmes. It is estimated that many more children could be acutely malnourished in additional districts where screening for detecting those children has not yet taken place. UNICEF and its partners, including sister UN agencies and international and national non-governmental organisations, are working closely with the Government of Ethiopia to respond swiftly and effectively to the crisis. In view of the fast deteriorating situation, the government and partners have launched an update to the 2008 Humanitarian Requirements on 12 June 2008. The total value of the appeal amounts to US$ 325 million with US$ 38.7 million for Health, Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Agriculture (non-food sector). UNICEF requires US$ 28 million to meet the immediate needs of children and women throughout the affected areas and another US$ 21.3 million for mitigation and preparedness in broader vulnerable areas of the country. In agreement with the government, preparedness will be enhanced in order to mitigate the impact of eventual breaks in the food pipeline in the coming months, a thorough nutrition survey will be conducted shortly in support of planning of response, and the capacity of government to prepare, respond and improve delivery of assistance will be enhanced.
Ethiopia Humanitarian Action Update 24 Jun 2008 [pdf]

This year’s emergency situation is associated to the unfavourable weather situation in the country as well as the insecurity and reduced access in the Somali Region. The impact of the drought in Ethiopia has so far been most severe in pastoral areas of Somali as well as in the Oromia and SNNPR regions following two consecutive poor rain seasons. There are also increasing concerns in Amhara and Tigray Regions. The increasing drought will leave more than 2.2 million Ethiopians struggling to survive without sufficient food, health, nutrition and care and extremely high levels of severe malnutrition are now reported in the very short term. The number requiring humanitarian assistance is likely to increase further. Some rains have been reported but weather forecasts indicate that these are unlikely to replenish water sources and pasture and carry pastoralists through to the next rains in October 2008. Over 2 million are estimated to be in need of immediate water, hygiene and sanitation assistance. Moreover, the arrival of rains in some areas is likely to signal the beginning of outbreaks of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) and other types of diarrhoeal diseases as already witnessed in Amhara. This is linked to the very poor sanitation and hygiene status in many parts of the country, limited access to safe water, and concentrations of displaced people. The vulnerability of the population to diarrheal diseases is greatly increased by their poor nutritional status; children are especially at risk. UNICEF and its partners are responding to the urgent needs of children and women in the drought-affected areas, in the sectors of health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and child protection.
Ethiopia Humanitarian Action Update 13 May 2008 [pdf]