DROUGHT-STRICKEN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA FACES CRITICAL SITUATION

DROUGHT-STRICKEN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA FACES CRITICAL SITUATION

NEW YORK, 24 March (OCHA) -- Nearly 2 million people in Ethiopia’s drought-stricken Somali region and the Borena zone of Oromiya region urgently require food assistance, livestock support, access to safe drinking water and sanitation and health interventions.

Throughout the two regions, some 1.7 million people require emergency food relief.  However, this number is currently being reassessed, as the number of people affected and their needs are believed to have increased significantly since they were last assessed in November 2005.  Additionally, more than 740,000 people urgently need emergency water; and more than 1.5 million children under 5 require immunizations against diseases such as measles, which prey upon the malnourished.  To redress the situation, the United Nations agencies and partners have requested nearly $14 million for emergency programmes in these sectors under the country’s 2006 Humanitarian Appeal.  However, only $2.1 million has been received, so far.

Within the Somali region, the food security situation is critical in some areas and deteriorating in others.  Food assistance is being provided to 1.5 million people by the World Food Programme (WFP), in conjunction with the Government of Ethiopia and non-governmental partners.  Particularly vulnerable groups, such as young children and pregnant and nursing mothers, are receiving additional food, rich in vitamins and minerals.  Additionally, as transport and infrastructure remains poor in these areas, the Government has now instructed private vehicle owners to make their trucks available for the transport of emergency food, and has engaged its own emergency transport fleet in order to step up the deliveries to the most affected communities.  These measures have ensured that 90 per cent of January food allocations have been transported to the Somali region, and 98 per cent to the Borena zone of Oromiya region.  February allocations are now being transported.

Large numbers of livestock, including cattle, goats, sheep and camels, continue to die in the two regions, due to diseases and lack of food and water.  In collaboration with regional authorities, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is providing anti-parasitic drugs for the livestock.  In Borena, the Government has conducted a destocking programme, prompted by the very poor physical condition of livestock.  Additionally, some non-governmental organizations have begun to distribute animal feed.  FAO, in conjunction with the Government and some non-governmental organizations, is also vaccinating and providing drugs for 20 per cent of the livestock population in areas not covered under normal programmes.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has provided five water purification units for the Somali region, which will provide 200,000 litres of water per day for 50,000 of the region’s worst-hit people.  In the Borena zone, UNICEF and several non-governmental organizations are providing water to the hardest-hit areas, while the Regional Water Resources Bureau has begun to conduct high-priority maintenance activities, using supplies and equipment pre-positioned with UNICEF support and Government funds.

And, in the health sector, the Somali Regional Health Bureau and UNICEF screened 97 per cent of children and 90 per cent of pregnant and nursing women for malnutrition, referring 26 per cent of children and 25 per cent of women for targeted supplementary feeding.  Nearly 160,000 children under 5 have been provided vitamin A supplements and vaccinated against measles, and 137,000 children have been de-wormed.  Within the Borena zone, nearly 700,000 children under 5 will be targeted by a measles vaccination campaign organized by UNICEF and regional health officials.  The children will also receive vitamin A supplements, polio vaccinations, and de-worming tablets.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570.

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For information media • not an official record