UNOCHA said additional fund is required to address El Niño impact in Ethiopia

ESAT News (August 31, 2015)

A report released today by the United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) showed that additional funds are required to address the impacts of El Niño in Ethiopia for the first quarter of 2016.

The statement also said that Ethiopian Ministry of Health urgently needed US$5.5 million to vaccinate 5.3 million children under-5 in nutrition hotspot priority 1 and 2 Woredas.

Low rains caused domestic animals deaths

OCHA said 60% of the required funds to address the drought and famine was raised. Yet, $174 million is urgently needed where “$110 million is intended to meet the food needs of 4.5 million people; and $64 million for emergency needs in the nutrition, WASH, health, agriculture and education sectors during the remainder of 2015.”

OCHA estimates food insecurity will remain a concern in belg rain receiving areas: Southern, Central, Eastern and North-Eastern Ethiopia until the next belg harvest in June 2016.

Low belg harvest and failed or low meher rain would significantly exasperate food insecurity in these vulnerable areas, the report said. Therefore, additional funds are needed to address the extended impact in 2016.

UNOCHA predicted that displacements may occur due to flood in Afar, Oromia, Amhara, and Somali areas situated along major rivers and their tributaries. OCHA urges all authorities to closely monitor developments to mitigate the displacement.

Previously ESAT reported that belg crop producing areas did not receive adequate rains from February to May 2015 leading millions to starvation. In pastoral areas, water and pasture shortages impacted the livestock body condition, milk, and herd size.

Reports from Ethiopia indicated that crop coverage in belg-rain receiving areas was reduced to 40-60 per cent. Belg-producing areas experienced below average harvest in central Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) and northeastern Amhara, the lowlands of the Tekeze River catchment in northern Amhara, and the lowlands of eastern Oromia in Ethiopia.

Source:http://ethsat.com/?p=34173