- HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES -

Food insecurity remains a key challenge in Ethiopia, which predominantly affects pastoralist and agro-pastoralist households, with the highest proportion of food insecure people living in Oromia (44 per cent). In 2019, on average more than 30,000 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) were admitted for treatment every month. Food insecurity along with disease outbreaks, water shortages, poor sanitation facilities and lack of access to quality health care have resulted in a deterioration of the nutrition situation. These factors also heightened the risk of disease outbreaks and psychosocial distress, with IDPs being particularly vulnerable to both.

Conflict and climatic shocks negatively impacted people’s daily lives, livelihoods and their ability to meet their basic needs. Lack of access to basic services such as education, shelter, healthcare, quality water and sanitation facilities along with food insecurity affected people’s health, wellbeing and personal development, which often resulted in lower productivity and income. Consequently, vulnerable groups, including IDPs, returnees, women and children turned to negative coping mechanisms.

Over the past four years, 3.2 million people have been consistently targeted for relief food assistance. Many of these people reside in areas affected by previous droughts and their needs became chronic. This indicates that the recovery time from previous shocks is longer than the time between shocks. The majority of livelihoods in Ethiopia are linked to climate trends. As a result, climate shocks often result in the loss of productive assets and livelihood opportunities, which in turn impacts people’s income, coping strategies, as well as their physical and mental wellbeing.

Vulnerable population groups such as IDPs, women, children, elderly and people living with disabilities face serious protection concerns, including gender-based violence, rape and sexual violence, and child marriage. In displacement areas, inadequate shelter and lack of gender- segregated WASH facilities expose these groups to many of these risks. There have also been reports of women and girls being attacked while collecting firewood, fetching water, and while returning from food distribution points. Many IDPs do not have their legal identify documents, which are a prerequisite for accessing basic services such as health, education and the justice system. The lack of security and limited access to basic services have stretched the coping mechanisms of affected populations and increased their vulnerability.

- SEVERITY OF NEEDS -

Over one third of the people in need face several types of challenges and have multiple needs. Some 33 per cent of the people need live in woredas classified with high severity of need, while 4 per cent live in woredas classified with very high severity of need. The higher the severity score of the woreda, the more severe, time-critical and compounded are the needs. At the time of publication of this document, available data indicated that persons with the most severe and compounded needs are found in Hudet, Moyale and Qada Duma woredas in Daawa zone (Somali region) and in Meda Welabu woreda in Bale zone (Oromia region).