Saturday, November 28, 2015

Ready or not - drought tests Ethiopia IRIN Africa |

 
By Colin Cosier 


ADDIS ABABA, 27 November 2015 (IRIN) - Herding weary sheep up a dusty path, Hussein Boru knows he won’t find green pastures. He’s just looking for the minimum to keep his flock fed in drought-hit eastern Ethiopia.



Boru, a pastoralist from the Karrayyu Oromo ethnic group, has been forced to move his 30-strong extended family 60 kilometres from their old home. The drought, he says, has made their land unlivable, but the countryside they’re crossing is hardly any better.



In broken plastic sandals and with just a bolt-action rifle to ward off hyenas, Boru is resolute: “The only things I depend on are God and my livestock,” he told IRIN.



Ethiopia today, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, has spent big on rural development and drought-resilience schemes, and says it has this year's situation under control.



The scale and severity of the drought has been compared to the notorious famine year of 1984, and soil moisture in some parts are at 30-year lows, according to satellite data, but nationwide the picture is mixed.



The spring Belg rains were largely a failure, and weak summer Kiremt rains exacerbated the situation in this farming nation. In the affected areas, crops barely grew, the stunted shoots only suitable for livestock.



The poor Kiremt rains have been linked to the Pacific Ocean warming phenomenon known as El Niño. For a country where agriculture accounts for more than 40 percent of GDP and ensures the livelihoods of more than 80 percent of the population, the situation is serious.



More than eight million need aid



The UN says 8.2 million Ethiopians – out of a population of close to 100 million – are in need of food assistance, and projects that this number will balloon to 15 million next year. The government has bought a million metric tonnes of grain, but the supply is only expected to last the next few months.



Ethiopia is expected to be hit hard by global warming, with big swings in rainfall variability from drought to flooding. The ability of farmers to adapt to a changing climate, and the government to identify a path to sustainable development, are key for the country’s future.



On the outskirts of Welenchiti town, 120 kilometres from the capital Addis Ababa, along the country’s Chinese-built (and only) expressway, Workitu Tegenu, 30, says her farm’s teff and sorghum crops failed despite three planting attempts. Her family is relying on savings to feed their 10 children but she worries about the coming months. Workitu says she’s requested government aid but has not yet received any.



A few kilometres away, Habebe Badada’s farm lies in the shadow of the nearly completed Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway, close to the old, discontinued line.Habebe’s crops also failed entirely. He plans to make it through to next year’s harvest with the minuscule wage he receives guarding, part-time, the old tracks that cut across his barren fields.

The 50-year-old can’t remember a worse drought. “Even the 1984 drought was better,” he said.



Fighting the famine image



The 1984 famine that prompted Bob Geldof’s Live Aid appeal unfolded under the Marxist-Leninist military junta, the Derg. Civil war exacerbated the disaster, with the Derg battling secessionist rebellion in some of the drought-affected areas.



Ethiopians have been trying to shake off the famine image ever since, which helps explain the government’s control of this crisis’ narrative.



In fact, not one of the top independent aid officials IRIN spoke to would go on the record, agreeing to speak only on condition of anonymity. The politics of the drought are that sensitive.



While there was unanimous agreement among those interviewed that the authorities are working hard to avert disaster, not all agree the crisis is “under control” as claimed by government spokesman and communications minister Getachew Reda at a recent press conference.



Paying the bills



One point of contention is how the severity of the crisis is being communicated. “There is no one that we know of that has lost their life as a result of the drought-induced crisis,” said Getachew.



But a top foreign aid official says while no one is starving to death, about 200,000 children die each year from preventable diseases linked to malnutrition, and the drought will make matters worse.



How the disaster response will be paid for is another cause for concern, warns the head of one international NGO.



“The country is running out of foreign reserves… if there’s no cash to import grain what are they going to do?” he said.



In October, a figure of $596 million was set to cover the costs of the drought response until the end of the year.



The government has contributed $192 million while the international community pledged $163 million, leaving a significant funding gap the government insists it and donors will meet.



“No, we’re not shelving any project in this country to address this challenge because it’s still within our capacity to address this challenge,” said Getachew, while not ruling out future policy changes should the situation deteriorate.



Points for trying



The man spearheading the government’s drought response, State Minister for Agriculture Mitiku Kassa, said in a phone interview that it’s not the government’s financial position that worries him.



"You can build resilience, but when conditions are bad enough, so severe – and we’re seeing the perfect storm – these resilience systems are overawed"
“The international community is not in a position to respond to our crisis,” he said, citing crises like Syria for putting a heavy burden on global humanitarian coffers.



Another NGO head says that while the situation is bad now it will be worse next year during the long wait until the next harvest.



“The best-case scenario will involve hundreds of thousands of metric tonnes more [grain] than what is in the pipeline… if not a gap of millions for what is needed,” he said.



Despite their concerns, all the aid officials IRIN spoke to gave the government credit for trying to head off the disaster.



“I think the part of the government responsible, the DRMFSS [Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector] has been remarkably strong and effective,” one said.



Another government initiative credited with strengthening the country’s drought-resilience is the Productive Safety Net Project; “the largest safety net programme in Africa,” according to Minister Mitiku.



The PSNP provides cash or food to between six and eight million chronically food insecure Ethiopians for six months each year. In exchange, this army of workers has been deployed on a decade’s worth of drought-resilience projects from improving ground water access and irrigation to forestation, soil and water conservation work, to building schools and health centres.



“That program has been enormously successful in making some of the poorest Ethiopians less vulnerable,” said the head of a major international NGO.



What went wrong?



So with all this money and effort expended, why the crisis?



“You can build resilience, but when conditions are bad enough, so severe – and we’re seeing the perfect storm – these resilience systems are overawed.



“But it would be a lot worse if that work hadn’t been done… there’s no absolute resilience,” said the NGO head.



While projects like the PSNP have helped, a lack of land rights are holding back poor farmers, according to another top aid official.



“[Ethiopia’s] land policy is very strict. Land can’t be bought, sold or transferred. So no land can be consolidated,” he said.



“What [the government] haven’t dealt with are the most vulnerable of the population. They’re on tiny, fractured plots of land and can’t make a go of it.



“Unless they get consolidated, sustainable farms, they’ll never be able to support themselves and prosper. There are still millions who can’t support themselves in a good year and then they fall off a cliff in a bad year,” he said.



History and science both tell of more bad years to come. Ethiopia’s National Meteorology Agency warns climate change will only exacerbate future El Niño effects.



A fact not lost on Mitiku: “We know [El Niño] will come more and more in coming years… It shows we have to strengthen our economic development.”



He added: “The government has not left everything to the donors. It’s taken the lead and allocated the lion’s share of the budget to combat the adverse effects of El Niño.”



That said, the government admits it can’t face the problem alone. “Even when you’re capable of addressing your problems you need friends,” noted Getachew.



cc/oa/agFor more climate coverage, go to our COP 21 special feature

Thursday, November 26, 2015

In Ethiopia: Worrying aid shortages as malnutrition hits record high

"They are now carrying loads, which otherwise would have been carried by their donkeys," it said.
  • Published: 
A refugee child from South Sudan feeds on food supplements at a health centre at the Kule refugee camp in Ethiopia's Gambella region, April 1, 2015. . REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya (Reuters)Donors are not responding fast enough to urgent calls for more aid to drought-stricken Ethiopia where record-breaking numbers of children are suffering malnutrition, the United Nations said on Monday.
Ethiopia is experiencing its worst drought in decades, after low and erratic rainfall during the spring and summer, leaving more than eight million people in need of food aid.
"The El Niño-caused drought emergency is worsening and is worryingly underfunded despite repeated calls by the Ethiopian government and humanitarian partners for additional funds," the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
The El Niño weather phenomenon, caused by Pacific Oceanwarming, is causing droughts and floods across eastern Africa.
The number of children admitted to hospitals with severe acute malnutrition, meaning they are likely to die without therapeutic feeding, has hit record levels, the U.N. said.
In September, there were more than 35,000 new admissions, bringing the number of children under 5 years old treated for SAM this year to more than 250,000, the U.N. said.
Children are falling critically ill because of the failed rains along with shortages of food aid, particularly supplementary nutrition given to the most vulnerable members of the population, it said.
Women and girls are travelling up to 30km (18.6 miles) a day in search of water, their burden increased by the death of their livestock.
"They are now carrying loads, which otherwise would have been carried by their donkeys," it said.
The number of hungry people in the region is expected to almost double to 22 million in early 2016, from 12 million a year earlier, the U.N. said.
Ethiopia, with the second largest population in Africa, will require the lion's share of aid, despite its impressive double digit economic growth in recent years.
The U.N. said 15 million Ethiopians, about 15 percent of the population, will likely need emergency aid by early next year.
Ethiopia's government provided $192 million to respond to the crisis last month, but the U.N. said another $348 million is needed for the remainder of this year.
Humanitarians and the government have been briefing donors, several of whom have made pledges, but these are "insignificant" in relation to need, the U.N. said late last month

El Nino: Floods could displace 100,000 in Ethiopia - UN

playDisplaced people wait to receive for non-food items from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at the Kabasa transit centre for the internally displaced people in Dollow town, along the Somalia-Ethiopia border, August 30, 2011. REUTERS/Thomas MukoyaplayDisplaced people wait to receive for non-food items from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at the Kabasa transit centre for the internally displaced people in Dollow town, along the Somalia-Ethiopia border, August 30, 2011. REUTERS/Thomas 
Floods caused by El Nino could displace more than 100,000 people in Ethiopia, where more than 8 million people are facing a food crisis because of the worst drought since a devastating 1984 famine, the United Nations said on Monday.
Failed rains during both the spring and summer have created food and water shortages in the Horn of Africa nation. The government and aid agencies say Ethiopia needs $600 million to cope with the crisis.
Ethiopia, brought to its knees by famine in 1984 which killed hundreds of thousands of people, now boasts one of the world's fastest growing economies and is far better able to cope with a new crisis, experts say. The government says agriculture has a smaller role and double-digit growth forecasts will not be knocked off track this time.
"El Nino has a dual impact on Ethiopia causing drought in the north, central and eastern parts of the country, and flooding in south and south eastern areas," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a report.
"At least 210,600 people are expected to be affected by flooding and at least 105,300 people risk displacement," it said.
The El Nino weather pattern, marked by warming sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, causes extremes such as scorching weather in some regions of the globe and heavy rains and flooding in others. Meteorologists expect El Nino to peak between October and January and to be one of the strongest on record.
Aid agencies say the number of people needing support in Ethiopia could rise to 15 million by early 2016, with 350,000 children expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition by the end of 2015.
More than 600,000 tons of wheat purchased by the Ethiopian government is expected to arrive in neighbouring Djibouti this week, the United Nations said. Addis Ababa has so far allocated more than 6 million birr ($287,480) to tackle the effects, it added.
Abraham Tekeste, deputy head of the National Planning Commission, told Reuters on Monday that Ethiopia's economy was on course to meet growth forecasts of 10 percent in the 2015/16.
"The structure of the economy has changed. It has become diversified now," he said, adding agriculture now accounted for 38 percent of national income versus 60 percent only five years ago. "The economy has become resilient to shocks now."
However, consultancy group Teneo Intelligence said in a note last week growth projections of 10 percent in 2015/16 could be revised down if there is a sustained drought.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Ethiopia Seeks Help to Survive Drought

FILE - An unidentified government official sits on sacks of wheat donated by the U.S. at a food distribution point near Jijiga, eastern Ethiopia,  Dec. 1, 2009.
FILE - An unidentified government official sits on sacks of wheat donated by the U.S. at a food distribution point near Jijiga, eastern Ethiopia, Dec. 1, 2009.

Marthe van der Wolf
Drought has ruined this year's harvest for many Ethiopian farmers. In a country where 85 percent of the people are farmers, millions are in need of aid.
The government has purchased nearly 1 million metric tons of wheat at a cost of about $280 million to get through the next three to four months.
Government spokesman Getachew Redda said the government is in control of the crisis, but is also focused on measures that will reduce the impact of future droughts.
“From a strategic point of view," Redda said, "the government will continue to further enhance its efforts to develop underground water resources and develop irrigation mechanisms which do not have to depend on the varieties of weather.”
Experts believe the reduction in rainfall is due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. While cycles of drought are expected every 10 to 12 years, the frequency of droughts and erratic rainfalls is expected to increase because of global climate change.
Wagayehu Bekele, climate director at Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency, said getting better information to farmers so they can adjust their schedules is a priority.
“Farmers have traditional wisdom," Bekele said. "They know when to sow, they know when to harvest, when to cultivate. But the problem now is that traditional wisdom is not working anymore. The problem is, even if the rain starts early, they don’t start sowing or planting. Why? They say it's not the normal time to plant.”
Modernizing traditional practices is part of a short-term solution. Wagayehu thinks that focusing on sustainable ways of farming is just as important.
Agriculture makes up almost half of Ethiopia’s gross domestic product. The lack of rain has severely affected the lowlands and livestock.
Araya Asfaw, director of the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center and Network, said not enough information about the effect of climate change on Africa is available.
“The model for Africa is not as good because we don’t have enough data, meteorological data, to predict what will happen," Asfaw said. "We need to have more meteorological stations all over the place.”
Drought and hunger have been sensitive topics in Ethiopia since the infamous famine in the early 1980s that killed over 400,000 people. The government says that the current drought has not killed anyone yet, but that about 8 million people need assistance. The United Nations estimates that number will nearly double in the coming months.

El Nino floods could displace 100,000 in Ethiopia, United Nations says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

El Nino floods could displace more than 100,000 people in Ethiopia, where more than 8 million people are facing a food crisis, the United Nations says.
Failed rains during both the spring and summer have created food and water shortages in the Horn of Africa nation.
The government and aid agencies say Ethiopia needs $US600 million to cope with the crisis.
Ethiopia, brought to its knees by famine in 1984, which killed hundreds of thousands of people, now boasts one of the world's fastest growing economies and is far better able to cope with a new crisis, experts say.
The government said agriculture had a smaller role and double-digit growth forecasts would not be knocked off track this time.
"El Nino has a dual impact on Ethiopia, causing drought in the north, central and eastern parts of the country, and flooding in south and south eastern areas," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a report.
"At least 210,600 people are expected to be affected by flooding and at least 105,300 people risk displacement," it said.
The El Nino weather pattern, marked by warming sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, causes extremes such as scorching weather in some regions of the globe and heavy rains and flooding in others.
Meteorologists expect El Nino to peak between October and January and to be one of the strongest on record.
Aid agencies have said the number of people needing support in Ethiopia could rise to 15 million by early 2016, with 350,000 children expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition by the end of 2015.
More than 600,000 tons of wheat purchased by the Ethiopian government is expected to arrive in neighbouring Djibouti this week, the United Nations said.
Addis Ababa has so far allocated more than 6 million birr ($395,745) to tackle the effects, it added.
Abraham Tekeste, deputy head of the National Planning Commission, said on Monday that Ethiopia's economy was on course to meet growth forecasts of 10 per cent in the 2015-16.
"The structure of the economy has changed. It has become diversified now," he said, adding agriculture now accounted for 38 per cent of national income versus 60 per cent only five years ago.
"The economy has become resilient to shocks now."
However, consultancy group Teneo Intelligence said in a note last week that growth projections of 10 per cent in 2015-16 could be revised down if there is a sustained drought.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Ethiopia Seeks Help to Survive Drought


FILE - An unidentified government official sits on sacks of wheat donated by the U.S. at a food distribution point near Jijiga, eastern Ethiopia,  Dec. 1, 2009.
FILE - An unidentified government official sits on sacks of wheat donated by the U.S. at a food distribution point near Jijiga, eastern Ethiopia, Dec. 1, 2009.
Marthe van der Wolf


Drought has ruined this year's harvest for many Ethiopian farmers. In a country where 85 percent of the people are farmers, millions are in need of aid.
The government has purchased nearly 1 million metric tons of wheat at a cost of about $280 million to get through the next three to four months.
Government spokesman Getachew Redda said the government is in control of the crisis, but is also focused on measures that will reduce the impact of future droughts.
“From a strategic point of view," Redda said, "the government will continue to further enhance its efforts to develop underground water resources and develop irrigation mechanisms which do not have to depend on the varieties of weather.”
Experts believe the reduction in rainfall is due to the El Nino weather phenomenon. While cycles of drought are expected every 10 to 12 years, the frequency of droughts and erratic rainfalls is expected to increase because of global climate change.
Wagayehu Bekele, climate director at Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency, said getting better information to farmers so they can adjust their schedules is a priority.
“Farmers have traditional wisdom," Bekele said. "They know when to sow, they know when to harvest, when to cultivate. But the problem now is that traditional wisdom is not working anymore. The problem is, even if the rain starts early, they don’t start sowing or planting. Why? They say it's not the normal time to plant.”
Modernizing traditional practices is part of a short-term solution. Wagayehu thinks that focusing on sustainable ways of farming is just as important.
Agriculture makes up almost half of Ethiopia’s gross domestic product. The lack of rain has severely affected the lowlands and livestock.
Araya Asfaw, director of the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center and Network, said not enough information about the effect of climate change on Africa is available.
“The model for Africa is not as good because we don’t have enough data, meteorological data, to predict what will happen," Asfaw said. "We need to have more meteorological stations all over the place.”
Drought and hunger have been sensitive topics in Ethiopia since the infamous famine in the early 1980s that killed over 400,000 people. The government says that the current drought has not killed anyone yet, but that about 8 million people need assistance. The United Nations estimates that number will nearly double in the coming months.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Extra funds released to help Ethiopia’s food crisis | Public Finance

Extra funds released to help Ethiopia’s food crisis | Public Finance: "Extra funds released to help Ethiopia’s food crisis
By:
Emma Rumney
16 Nov 15
The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released $17m to help those affected by the worst drought to hit Ethiopia in decades.


Ethiopian girls. Credit:Shutterstock

 

After failed rains in the spring, the climate phenomenon El Niño has further exacerbated the crisis in the country increasing food and water shortages and driving malnutrition up.

Around 2.9 million people in Ethiopia were in need of emergency food aid at the start of this year. By August this had almost doubled to 4.5 million and by October had almost doubled again to 8.2 million.

Stephen O’Brien, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator, said: “A timely response to the emergency is critical. If we don’t act today, we face an even graver situation tomorrow, with more immense needs in 2016.

“CERF funds will immediately provide crucial food supplies for people affected by the drought now, when they need it most.”

The emergency funding will be released to the World Food Programme so it can support some 1.37 million Ethiopians with food and provide specialised nutritional supplements to 164,000 malnourished women and children.

Dina Esposito, director of USAID’s office of food for peace, has said improved early warning systems tracking the impacts of El Niño across the Horn of Africa and the engagement of the Ethiopian government meant levels of famine witnessed in earlier decades are unlikely to recur.

This recurrence of El Niño, one of the strongest ever recorded, will cause both drought and floods in the country, as well as across Africa and Asia more widely.

By the end of the year the UN’s global emergency fund will have provided over $80m in response to humanitarian needs because of climate-related events linked to El Niño. Since July alone, $76m has been disbursed to agencies carrying out aid activities across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

This most recent donation follows $97m in additional emergency food assistance for the country from American development agency USAID earlier this week.

Emma Rumney
is a reporter for Public Finance International

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Saturday, November 14, 2015

About 7.5 million Ethiopians are starving as nearly 6 months of drought makes food scarce


ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Donors, including the U.S., UN and China, are providing funds to aid victims of the severe drought that Ethiopia is suffering.
About 7.5 million Ethiopians are starving as nearly 6 months of drought has made food scarce, according to Ethiopian government statistics.
The El Nino climate cycle has raised the temperature of the Pacific Ocean resulting in reduced rainfall all across Africa.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation told Anadolu Agency on Friday that China had announced a donation of ETB 163 million ($7.7 million). The U.S. also announced food emergency assistance worth $97 million. 
In Ethiopia, the eastern part of the country is worst affected.
Ministry spokesman Hajji Ibsa said that the drought so far affected water reserves and pastures causing the death of animals in the Afar and Somali regional states.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Wednesday said in a statement it would provide “more than 154,000 tons of emergency food to address the needs of approximately 3.5 million Ethiopians as well as refugees from Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea, who have fled conflict in their own countries”.
“USAID is also contributing $58 million to its partner Catholic Relief Services for 105,700 tons of U.S. food, along with $19 million for the World Food Program (WFP) for its drought relief operation, and an additional $20 million for refugee assistance,” the statement said.
On Thursday the UN announced from New York that it released $17 million to be used in emergency relief efforts in Ethiopia.
“We expect similar donations from more donor countries and agencies,” the spokesman said. The Ethiopian government has been delivering continuous assistance to affected regions in an effort to relieve the humanitarian crisis.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Drought in Ethiopia worst than 1884

Ethiopia: Aid shortage threatens S.Sudan refugees - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan

Ethiopia’s refugee agency has launched an urgent appeal for food aid to assist hundreds of thousands of refugees particularly South Sudanese refugees.
JPEG - 14.8 kb
A South Sudanese refugee with her child on one of the buses that moved volunteers from the flood-prone Leitchuor and Nip Nip refugee camps in western Ethiopia (Photo courtesy of the UNHCR)
Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), a local implementing partner of UNHCR has called for supplies of food for over 730,000 refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan who are being sheltered at different camps in Ethiopia.
ARRA Director-General Ayalew Awoke Wednesday told reporters that the refugees mainly those from South Sudan, are in a critical state as the national refugee agency has run short of supplies of food for the refugees.
“The 730,000 refugees from South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia will soon face chaos as the food aid in stock will be totally consumed by the end of December,” Awoke warned.
He had therefore issued a desperate call to international aid agencies to take swift action to deliver essential food aid.
Ethiopia has been working with various aid agencies to provide the necessary assistance to the refugees from neighbouring countries, he said.
“Some 90 per cent of the refugees sheltered in the camps are women and children,” Ayalew further said .
“Talks are under way with aid agencies,” he disclosed in statements to the official Ethiopian news agency.
However, according to Ayalew, even if the ARRA received a positive response from the agencies, it would take about two months for the food to finally reach to the needy which amplified the problem.
The appeal comes as Ethiopia battles to feed some 8.2 million of its nationals starving after El Nino weather phenomenon and drought, worst in over a decade hit the Horn of Africa’s nation and other countries in the region.
The United Nations is warning that Ethiopians who will need food aid by 2016 could nearly double unless help arrives in time.
Ethiopia’s government has mobilized $33 million in emergency aid.
The UN recently said it needs $230 million by the end of the year; however the Ethiopia’s government says it needs an additional $596 million in international assistance to avert a potential famine.
Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985 has experienced a significant famine which has cost the lives of more than 400,000 people and the government assures a magnitude of famine like then won’t happen.
Ethiopian officials say a long-running food security programme (Productive Safety Net Program) is protecting the poorest from starvation and the country hopes it will ultimately control the crises without any drought-imposed disaster.
Meanwhile the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on Tuesday announced it is providing nearly $97 million in additional food aid to assist populations in Ethiopia who currently are severely impacted by the El Nino weather phenomenon.
The American government humanitarian agency said the additional aid is to support the millions of Ethiopians in need of immediate food aid as well as to refugees from Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea.
“USAID is contributing $58 million to its partner Catholic Relief Services for 105,700 tons of U.S. food; providing $19 million to the UN World Food Program (WFP) for its drought relief operation, and $20 million for its refugee assistance,” it said.
The United States has also pre-positioned relief commodities in Ethiopia to meet anticipated increased needs from El Nino.
“USAID food assistance contributions have been early and robust, thanks to the early warning and careful tracking of the progression of El Niño in the Horn of Africa” it said.
The projected level of need for emergency aid in Ethiopia has seen a sharp rise from 2.9 million people in early 2015 to 4.5 million people in August and to 8.2 million people as of mid-October.
USAID warns Ethiopia could likely face both prolonged drought and intense flooding that will further deteriorate food security as El Nino progresses into 2016.