Key Issues
- Number of children reached by nutrition screening dropped in Amhara and Oromia
- Internally displaced persons in Babile and Kubi need urgent humanitarian assistance
- Cluster continues to support Government’s logistics response capacity and coordination
- The Humanitarian Country Team is seeking clarity on the impact of the State of Emergency on humanitarian response
(Relief Web) — Drought exacerbated by El Niño, combined with extensive flooding, disease outbreaks and the disruption of basic public services, continue to have a negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of 9.7 million Ethiopians. Overall food security and agricultural production remain severely affected, with cascading effects on livelihoods, nutrition, health, water, sanitation, education and other sectors.
Number of children reached by nutrition screening dropped in Amhara and Oromia
The number of children reached by nutrition screening reduced significantly since July in Amhara and Oromia, coinciding with the increased unrest in the two regions. The drop was most significant in Oromia, where the number of children screened went down from an average of 3 million between January and June to 2.1 million in August. In Amhara screenings reduced from an average of 920,000 in the first half of the year to some 380,000 in August. In contrast, the Afar region has maintained an 80 per cent screening coverage on a monthly basis, according to the Nutrition Cluster.
Internally displaced persons in Babile and Kubi need urgent humanitarian assistance
Some 5,100 internally displaced families in Babile and Kubi woredas of the Somali region need urgent humanitarian assistance. According to recent multi-sectoral assessment, priority needs include some 650 metric tons of food per month for the next four months as well as supplementary feeding for children and pregnant and lactating mothers, clean water, and emergency shelter and non-food items. The new displacement is the result of resource-based conflict that started in June-July 2015 in East and West Hararge zones of the Oromia region. The Oromia and Somali region officials are discussing on a possible return of the IDPs to their areas of origin.
Cluster continues to support Government’s logistics response capacity and coordination
The Logistics Cluster continues to support the Government of Ethiopia in strengthening the logistics response capacity and coordination. To address human resource gaps, the cluster provided funds to the GoE to recruit nearly 500 storekeepers for the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and nearly 190 staff for the Somali Regional State Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau. The cluster is also recruiting approximately 300 staff to fill different programme coordinator positions in Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia and SNNP regions as well as warehouse support positions for NDRMC federal logistics hubs in Nazareth, Dire Dawa and Kombolcha through a third party recruitment agency. Induction sessions were completed for new recruits in the Somali region and remaining regions are expected to be completed by mid-November. Warehouse management trainings will be given to all federal NDRMC hub staff in November.
The Humanitarian Country Team works with authorities on State of Emergency
The Humanitarian Country Team is liaising with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs regarding the State of Emergency, as humanitarian partners continue to assist the Government in the provision of humanitarian assistance to nearly 10 million Ethiopians across the country as well as to more than 760,000 of refugees. The HCT is seeking formal clarity on how the humanitarian response can continue amid restrictions stipulated in the State of Emergency on restriction of movement, designated “red zones” and restricted freedom to assembly.