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Key Issues

• The Central Emergency Response Fund allocates US$18.5 million for Ethiopia’s new drought

• Humanitarian response well underway, dispersed pastoralist settlements posing challenges

The Central Emergency Response Fund allocates US$18.5 million for Ethiopia’s new drought

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated US$18.5 million through the Rapid Response Window to address the most urgent life-saving needs of communities affected by the new drought in Ethiopia. The fund will immediately be channeled to address urgent needs in Somali region. Accordingly, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will provide survival feed and health support for core breeding livestock; WFP will procure 3,278 MT of CSB++ (supper cereals) and UNICEF will support 18 Mobile Health and Nutrition Teams (MHNTs) providing integrated health and nutrition services in remote areas. UNICEF will also provide water trucking service and rehabilitate non-functional water schemes.

A globally managed pooled fund by the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), CERF was established in 2006 to avail urgent and much needed funds to UN agencies to respond to new or deteriorating humanitarian situations around the world. Generous donor contributions have allowed the Fund to allocate more than $4.5 billion to support humanitarian operations in 98 countries to date, including $20.5 million to Ethiopia in 2016 alone.

The new drought caused by failed 2016 autumn rains has left some 5.6 million people dependent on emergency food assistance to meet their basic food needs this year. Ethiopia’s Humanitarian Requirements Document seeks $948 million to respond to food and non-food needs, of which $598 million is targeted for relief food. As a sign of its continuing commitment and leadership, the Government of Ethiopia has already allocated an initial ETB1billion ($47 million) to kick start emergency food, water and livestock interventions in the new drought-affected areas.

Humanitarian response well underway, dispersed pastoralist settlements posing challenges

According to the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC), the Government and partners are currently providing humanitarian assistance to pastoralist communities in the drough taffectedareas. However, the dispersed pastoralist settlements are posing a challenge to the ongoing response. The Government is prioritizing through gathering the pastoralists and their livestock around temporary sites for assistance or relocating them to areas where water and pasture is available. Water is being rationed to address the immediate water need for human and livestock consumption, while permanent water systems are being put in place as a longer term solution for recurrent drought.

Given the high cost of providing water and fodder to the large number of livestock, commercial and slaughter destocking has been used as a means to minimize animal loss. The meat is being supplied to universities, institutions and mega projects catering for a larger number of employees and communities. In addition to supplying to the institutions, local communities in the Ethiopian Somali regional state have started to use the meat as supplementary food. For more on this:
Humanitarian response in full swing For further information contact: ocha-eth@un.org