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As of August 04, 2016
Ethiopia is facing one of the worst droughts the country has seen in decades. Triggered by El Niño, the drought is having a significant impact by limiting agricultural production, straining livelihoods, and exacerbating food insecurity among poor and vulnerable households.
During the spring and summer of 2016, Ethiopia is likely to experience significant rainfall that generates intense flooding in various parts of the country, which will further deteriorate humanitarian conditions for populations already vulnerable due to extended drought conditions across much of central, eastern, and northern Ethiopia. Humanitarian conditions are expected to worsen from June to September 2016 during the height of the lean season.
The Joint Government and Humanitarian Partners’ “Humanitarian Requirements Document” (HRD, December 7, 2015) projects the following needs among Ethiopia’s population of 92.3 million people (Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency; 2016 projection):
· Number of people needing relief food assistance: 10.2 million
· Number of people needing water, sanitation, and hygiene services: 5.8 million
· Total assistance required in 2016: $1.4 billion ($1.2 billion in food assistance)
In partnership with the Government of Ethiopia, the United States has responded decisively to meet the immediate needs of those most affected by the drought.
- USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to help prevent the drought in Ethiopia from becoming a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe. This elite team is providing technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia, conducting humanitarian assessments, and coordinating relief efforts with partners on the ground. Our humanitarian assistance has been early and robust, thanks to the early warning and careful tracking of the progression of El Niño.
- USAID is also supporting a package of life-saving humanitarian activities to address the needs of people across Ethiopia who have been hit the hardest. These interventions are providing relief food assistance; vital malnutrition treatments; seeds to farmers so they can start to build up badly depleted food stocks; and emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance.
- Since October 2015, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace has mobilized almost 675,000 metric tons of food to feed more than 4 million people in Ethiopia. Additionally, USAID provides approximately $100 million annually in support to the Government of Ethiopia-led Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), which provides predictable, seasonal cash and food transfers to five to eight million chronically food-insecure people each year.
- We are also working with partners to prepare for the upcoming rains and meher planting season, which usually feeds 85% of Ethiopia’s population. By getting seeds into the hands of farmers, we’re helping them plant before the rains fall—supporting more than 1.7 million people and alleviating some of the food needs in the future.
- USAID is also expanding support to health care workers and medical facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of severe acute malnutrition, and is working with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health to strengthen local capacity to provide vital nutrition assistance. In response to the drought, USAID partners have doubled the reach of nutrition activities to now assist around 60 woredas (districts) countrywide.
- On May 13, USAID announced nearly $128 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help the people of Ethiopia face the worst drought in fifty years. This new funding will provide vital humanitarian aid including relief food assistance, safe drinking water, nutrition services, and mobile health teams to help address the needs stemming from the drought. In addition, it will also help people by providing seeds for food production during the upcoming rains.
- The United States is the largest humanitarian donor to Ethiopia, having provided nearly $705 million in humanitarian assistance since October 2014. Humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia includes funding from USAID and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. This complements the more than $381 million the Government of Ethiopia has already committed to address emergency food and other humanitarian needs.
For years, the United States Government has invested and prepared for a situation like this, working closely with the Government of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people to build resilience. Ethiopia has made great development progress, which has helped to mitigate the impact of this drought. Ethiopia is now better able to cope with this situation due to the improved early warning system, the establishment of the PSNP, and serious engagement by the Government of Ethiopia to analyze and respond to the on-going crisis caused by
Seal of an Embassy of the United states of America
The worst impacts of this drought may still lie ahead—and in order to prevent a full-on humanitarian catastrophe—all parties must urgently step up. Donors need to come forward and give generously; international humanitarian and development partners must mobilize more staff; and the Government of Ethiopia—who has showcased tremendous leadership on this crisis thus far—must ensure that any bureaucratic impediments to the response are removed immediately.
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