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Ethiopia: Food Assistance Fact Sheet - September 30, 2018

Countries
Ethiopia
+ 1 more
Sources
USAID
Publication date

Situation

  • Prolonged and severe drought in 2016/2017, followed by heavy seasonal rainfall and flooding during the March–May 2018 belg rains, has left many families facing severe food insecurity. An estimated 7.9 million people in Ethiopia require emergency food assistance, according to the UN.
  • In addition to humanitarian needs driven by natural disaster, insecurity and conflict are leading to rapid and large-scale displacement along the borders of Somali, Oromiya and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) regions. Ethiopia also hosts more than 905,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including more than 420,000 South Sudanese refugees.
  • The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) projects that vulnerable people in Somali will likely experience Crisis (IPC 3) or Stressed (IPC 2) levels of acute food insecurity through January 2019, with populations continuing to recover from drought amid recent incidents of violence and displacement. Populations in parts of Oromiya and SNNP are expected to face Crisis-level acute food insecurity due to conflict, which has disrupted access to food and livelihood activities.

Response

  • In partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Food for the Hungry, Relief Society of Tigray and World Vision, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) targets food-insecure Ethiopians with long-term development interventions through the Government of Ethiopia-led Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) with the aim to reduce chronic food insecurity. With a Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 contribution to the PSNP of approximately $97 million, FFP addresses the basic needs of approximately 1.43 million chronically food-insecure people through the regular seasonal transfer of food and cash resources, while supporting the creation of assets that generate economic benefit to the entire community.
  • FFP partners with the UN World Food Program (WFP) and CRS to provide emergency food assistance to those affected by climatic and other shocks, as well as refugees. In addition, FFP provides specialized nutrition commodities for the treatment of acute malnutrition to WFP, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Rescue Committee, which leads a rapid response mechanism jointly funded by USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. FFP also provides resources to WFP for local and regional procurement of cereals, pulses and specialized nutrition products. In FY 2018, FFP’s partners targeted more than 9.35 million people with emergency food and nutrition assistance in Ethiopia.