SITUATION REPORT Drought Emergency in Somali and Oromiya Regions, 1 May, 2006

Highlights1 ¾ 1.7 million emergency food beneficiaries in and Borena zone, Oromiya; 614,000 people are under close monitoring in both areas. ¾ Additional 64,439 emergency beneficiaries identified in Borena zone, following DPPA-led multi-agency reassessment. ¾ Preliminary results of re-assessment in , and Liben zones in Somali Region indicate increased emergency needs. ¾ Rains have increased in the past week in most areas of Somali Region and Borena zone. Some water tankers have stopped, but continue to monitor the situation. Hygiene and sanitation are a priority. Access is proving an increased logistics challenge. ¾ Measles campaigns were successful in most districts of Somali Region and Borena zone. ¾ More than 1.5 million livestock vaccinated and treated against different diseases; reports from the reassessment missions and regional offices indicate that a large gap remains between livestock health needs and response.

1 The information in this document is consolidated from reports and field information from a variety of sources including UN agencies, NGOs and government partners. Most of the activities reported are taken from task force meetings. Overall Summary: After seven to ten days of a dry spell, the gu/hagaya (belg) rains resumed in Somali Region and southern parts of Oromiya Region. Following the generally good rainfall during the first dekad of April, the second dekad was dry in Somali Region. Since 20 April, the rains have resumed and several woredas report 1-3 days of light to heavy rainfall over the last week, including: Guradamole and woredas of , Jijiga town, Warder woreda of Warder zone, Gerbo woreda of Fik Zone, and , Degahamedo, and Degahabur woredas in Degehabur zone. Recent reports from Gode indicate that Guradamole, Gorobokoksa, Elkere and Hargele enjoyed good rainfall on 24 April. On 26 April, there was favorable rainfall in Gode town as well as in Mustahil, Ferfer and Kelafo woredas that lasted for about six hours, as well as light showers in Kebridehar and Adadele woredas. There are reports of migration of people (including cross border from ) to areas that received good rains. This posed a serious health threat in the region as measles cases was confirmed among families that had recently migrated to Bare woreda, who had missed the recent vaccination campaigns. Similarly, the rains in Borena resumed on 19 April, improving pasture (especially browse) and water availability. Consequently, water tankering operations are suspended in the zone and attention is shifting to water purification and general hygiene and sanitation activities. Efforts continue in maintenance and rehabilitation of water schemes as longer term solutions, and the procurement of spares and equipments worth US$250,000 has been finalised by UNICEF.

While rains were better in northern Somali Region (Jijiga and Shinile zones) for the month of April, rains in Somaliland resulted in floods in Ayisha woreda, Shinile zone. The DPPB and the Hararghe Catholic Services assessed the impact of floods, requesting food and non-food support for the people affected by the flood. Flooding also occurred in Afar Region, where heavy rains in the first week of April resulted in the over-flooding of the Awash River, covering the road between Dubti town and Beyahale kebele. Recent reports indicate that the flooding has receded and the Awash River has returned to its normal levels. According to the DPPA team sent from 2 to 9 April to assess the situation, the flood displaced 7,000 people in four kebeles, for whom Federal Authorities have dispatched food and non-food support. In addition, the Regional Health Bureau, with support from UNICEF, distributed 12,000 Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) to Dubti woreda. Other support has come for emergency activities in Afar, including for water tankering from UNICEF and for livestock health from FAO, in response to the Afar rapid assessment.

While overall results from neither of the DPPA led multi-agency reassessment missions to Borena zone and to Afder, Gode, and Liben zones are official, preliminary results indicate that the beneficiary numbers for emergency have increased. For Borena zone, the 64,439 additional emergency beneficiaries identified have been included in the response plans and will begin receiving support. Concern was raised regarding the limited representation of some non-food sectors in the assessment teams and regarding the delay in rapidly disseminating the mission results. Oromiya FSDPPC officially requested the DPPA to organise a reassessment mission to woredas of East Hararghe and East Shoa zones where serious food security problems were reported. In addition, decision is pending on whether 1.1 million people in Somali Region will be covered by the relief food aid or safety net programmes for the second half of 2006. The 2006 Humanitarian Appeal initially identified this population as relief food aid beneficiaries for the first half of the year and then safety net food beneficiaries for the second half of the year.

Coordination: Fortnightly emergency meetings continue at the federal, regional, and zonal levels, with zonal meetings in Gode becoming more regular. The federal TIME meeting was held on 27 April, and, after some delays, the next Early Warning Working Group meeting will be held on 3 May, at the DPPA conference hall. The Somali Regional Coordination meeting, to be held in Jijiga, is delayed until 4 May. The Afar Regional Coordination meeting, to be held in Semera, is scheduled for 3 May, and the next Oromiya Regional Coordination meeting is scheduled for 16 May in Addis Ababa. The Emergency Health and Nutrition Taskforce has moved its regular meeting from Friday to Wednesday afternoons (2 pm). It will be coordinated with the Multi-Agency Nutrition Taskforce (MANTF) so that they do not overlap. For all the latest maps and information regarding the drought emergency please refer to [email protected].

SOMALI REGION Water and Sanitation: Water tankering has been scaled down in Somali Region; partners are requested to update the regional and federal taskforces regarding the status of their tankers. NGOs that have either scaled down or completely stopped water tankering include Islamic Relief, ICRC, ACF, Hope for the Horn, and Oxfam-GB. Updates have still not been received from the Regional Water Bureau’s (RWB) maintenance teams, which were sent into four zones. ICRC has been working with one team in , and reported that the team had fixed one borehole and were getting supplies to fix two more. UNICEF sent four teams to rehabilitate 23 water schemes in Gode, Afder, and Liben zones, 12 of which have been maintained so far, benefiting more than 36,000 people. An inventory of 170 existing systems in the region is available through the Regional WES taskforce, and the RWB has been asked to input the information into a database.

With hygiene and sanitation a priority, efforts are picking up to distribute water purification products for turbid (cloudy) and non-turbid (clear) water, conduct hygiene and sanitation promotion, remove livestock carcasses, and train staff. UNICEF has provided five Emergency Water Purification (EmWat) Units, utilised by Islamic Relief, International Aid Services (IAS), and ICRC in Afder and Liben zones. The Regional Health Bureau (RHB) and UNICEF jointly organised an emergency hygiene and sanitation training in Gode and for the week of 24 April. It focused on water disinfection methods, hand-washing, and sanitation, for over 120 health workers and school teachers. The training was planned for earlier but health staff were held-up by the measles campaign. The WASH leaflets on hand-washing from 2005 have been reprinted and are available at the RHB. Population Services International’s (PSI) locally-produced WaterGuard, a chlorine water purification product appropriate for non-turbid (clear) water, is now available through local distributors in Southern and Eastern Ethiopia (Dire Dawa Administration and Borena and Guji zones of Oromiya Region). Water purification products for turbid (cloudy) water can be procured through UNICEF/MoWR (WaterMaker) for all partners and through PSI (PuR) for NGOs with USAID/OFDA funding. The local production and distribution of WaterGuard for clear water increases the potential sustainability of its use, and information, education, and communication (IEC) materials on hygiene and sanitation, which are available in Amharic and Somali languages, increase the likelihood that the product will be used properly. It has been stressed by the WES taskforces that all water treatment chemicals should be distributed with the proper education in order to increase their effectiveness.

Livestock: Due to recent rains, there has been some regeneration of pasture, though not yet sufficient to support livestock. Currently, the Livestock, Crops and Natural Resource Development Bureau (LCNRDB) has mobilised three teams to Tafaribar, Fafan and Babile areas to undertake treatment and vaccination interventions. FAO has supported the LCNRDB in the livestock and seed emergency interventions in Liben, Afder, Gode, Shinile and Jijiga zones, the latter two of which will receive seed support shortly. Eight teams were deployed by FAO to the three southern zones targeting more than 800,000 livestock for treatment and vaccination in the first round; the second round campaign is ongoing and expected to be finalised by mid-May. The LCNRDB is preparing to respond to the unknown camel diseases affecting the region, with technical and logistics support from FAO. In addition, FAO has opened a permanent office in Jijiga, and will increase its support to the regional bureau and the livestock working group. Oxfam-GB has vaccinated and treated 62,000 livestock in Hareshin woreda with drugs and supplies provided by the regional bureau. ICRC reached 67,000 animals with veterinary treatment in the third week of April through seven teams in Gerbo, Mustahil, and Ferfer woredas in Fik and Gode zones, bringing its total to 244,000 livestock, focused on breeding and young stock. With the onset of rains, ACF completed its animal health emergency campaign in , having reached a total of 207,886 livestock for endoparasites, 650,906 livestock for ectoparasites, and 15,365 livestock for infectious diseases, targeting a total of 13,393 households. ACF plans to conduct a new treatment campaign in the coming weeks in order to support livestock in the recovery process.

Regarding animal feed, the regional task force suggested that alternative feed options should be considered for future livestock feed interventions in the region. IRC/OWDA, which are operational in Degehabur and Korahe zones, have opened three supplementary feeding centres in Wajiwaji, Shekosh, and Kebridehar, targeting 1,500 cattle. Three tonnes of white cotton seed was delivered to Shekosh woreda, but, according to IRC/OWDA, the seed is not utilised by their targeted beneficiaries due to a lack of community awareness about the product. For commercial livestock de-stocking, while interest-free loans have been distributed to 10 primary cooperatives and two unions in Borena/southern Somali Region and northern Somali Region, interest loans from the Bank of Abyssinia have not yet been released. The regional task force stressed that monitoring mechanisms need to be developed to make sure that the loans are used properly and for the purpose intended.

Health & Nutrition: Twelve measles cases were reported in Bare woreda, Afder zone, resulting in four deaths, among families recently migrated to the area who missed the vaccination campaign. Woreda officials and mobile emergency health and nutrition teams will assess the situation in the affected kebele and report to the RHB. Diarrhoea cases were reported in Shilabo Town, Korahe zone, potentially due to low water levels and the increased mineral concentration of available water. Diarrhoea cases were also reported in Gashamo woreda, Degehabur zone. The RHB sent emergency drug supplies to Shilabo and health staff (one physician, two nurses and one lab tech) to Gashamo to control the situations. The RHB has reported increased cases of severe malnutrition cases in the Gode TFU. Respiratory diseases, diarrhoea, and malaria are also reported to be on the rise. Efforts are increasing to distribute ITNs and malarial drugs and supplies in Borena and Somali Region, as the rains increase the risk of malaria. Proper utilisation is a serious concern, both of health staff’s use of drugs and supplies and household’s use of ITNs, highlighting the need for supervision by regional, zonal, and woreda health offices and other partners. Of the overall 1,518,587 nets required (two ITNs/household at risk of malaria), 1,053,701 have been distributed so far or are on pipeline, leaving a gap of 464,886 ITNs. There are potentially extra nets in other regions that can be reallocated. Despite the federal ruling that in emergencies, drugs should be distributed for free from health facilities, reports have been received that drugs are being sold in Somali Region, serving as a barrier to accessing care. The Federal Health and Nutrition Task Force is following up.

The emergency measles campaign, which targeted more than half a million children from 6 to 59 months of age, has just been completed in all 30 targeted woredas, except in two where implementation is underway following delays due to heavy rainfall. Results are currently being compiled. The remaining woredas are expected to be covered in June/July. Eleven mobile emergency health and nutrition teams have started, and the additional five planned should start by the beginning of May. These teams, coordinated by the RHB with support from UNICEF, should reach a population of more than 1.3 million people with a package of life-saving health interventions, including mobile nutritional screening and treatment. A monitoring team composed of staff from the RHB and UNICEF will be travelling across the region every ten days to check the activities of the 16 teams. ICRC’s support to mobile health teams in three woredas has completed; their experience stressed the importance of proper monitoring to ensure that teams achieve their objectives. The first mobile emergency health and nutrition team reports are expected by the end of the month, and should provide basic health and nutrition information.

There are many nutritional interventions still pending, including: SC-US in Bare, Dolo Odo, and ; GOAL/OWDA in Denan; GOAL/MCDO in Harteshik and Fafen; and Islamic Relief in Hargele and Elklere. ACF delayed its planned nutrition assessments in Warder and Korahe zones due to recent rains, while security concerns forced CONCERN and MERLIN to delay beginning their projects in West Imi (they should begin shortly). MSF-B has admitted 105 severely malnourished children through its CTC programmes (71 in , 33 in Elkere, and 1 in Bare Town). It is not yet clear whether the low figures in Bare are due to the population migrating following recent rains, challenges in social mobilisation, or improved health status. The RHB and DPPB requested 1,200 cartons of BP5 high energy biscuits for children discharged from nutrition programmes from the supply given by UNICEF to DPPA, of which DPPA has so far sent 400 cartons. There is concern that if the release of the supply is not timely, the control of nutrition levels will be affected. To address reproductive health concerns arising in drought-affected areas, UNFPA, in collaboration with IMC, will provide in , , and Hudet woredas of Liben zone and Guradamole and Gorobaqasa of Afder zone: clean delivery kits for safe motherhood, condoms and PEP kits to prevent HIV transmission, treatment for rape victims and patients with sexually transmitted diseases, and training for health workers and traditional birth attendants. They are expected to begin in May.

Food: WFP field observations confirm that a significant increase in transportation, distributions and food availability at the household level has taken place in March/April. The DPPA has taken several measures to improve distributions including giving priority for transporters to the region, regular radio broadcasts informing beneficiaries of food allocations and deploying military escorts. DPPA has allocated 26,642 tonnes of relief food for the month of March and has started dispatching food to selected areas in Afder, Fik, and Liben zones. Of the 23,527 tons of food allocated for February, 74 percent has been dispatched to date in Somali Region. The needy population is provided with a full food basket, including Corn Soya Blend (CSB) used for blanket supplementary feeding for 35 percent of the most vulnerable population. WFP’s Targeted Supplementary Food Programme is being implemented in Somali Region, with distributions of CSB and oil undertaken in Gode zone (for 18,500 beneficiaries in eight woredas) and dispatches started to several other woredas. In total, 58,500 children under-five and women across 21 woredas will receive food in April, with the next round of distribution planned for June. Some 32,000 school children are benefiting from WFP school feeding across 84 schools, with the feeding programme ongoing for the second semester. The national relief food pipeline covers needs until June, when cereals will run out unless new contributions are confirmed. Requirements in pastoral areas have been formally assessed until June, and reassessments in June/July will confirm the needs for the second half of the year. Requirements for July-December are likely to increase substantially compared to the requirements issued in January for the Humanitarian Appeal.

BORENA ZONE Water & Sanitation: Following the recent rains, water tankering has completely stopped in Borena zone. With the focus on hygiene and sanitation, the RWB, with support from UNICEF, conducted a training starting on 11 April on animal carcass disposal for 100 community leaders and woreda and zonal government officials, following which the collection and burning of carcasses began. About 680,000 water purification sachets have been sent by UNICEF to Borena to help clean potentially polluted water pools. RHB, UNICEF, and NGOs, including CISP, are addressing hygiene and sanitation needs through hygiene and sanitation promotion, livestock carcass removal, latrine construction, and water purification.

Livestock: Incidences of livestock diseases are increasing, while the zone reports a gap of veterinary drugs for the 80 percent of livestock in the zone that are not being covered by the current vaccination campaign supported by FAO. The Oromiya Pastoral Areas Development Commission (OPADC) has also indicated that there is a gap for both vaccination and treatment interventions, and raised concerns in a debate on the livestock mortality figure due to drought and diseases (129,408 livestock) reported by the Oromiya FSDPPC at the Oromiya Regional Coordination meeting on 18 April.

Commercial de-stocking is on-going in the zone. However, concern was raised about the limited scale of the intervention and regarding the continued fact that traders do not go to remote areas where there is a high concentration of livestock population, but rather conduct their business only in the main road areas. OPADC noted that it can advocate to the traders to go to remote areas, but cannot offer subsidised transportation costs or full facilities in livestock holding areas, such as adequate pasture and water. Meanwhile, in response to the shortage of seeds in lowland areas of Borena zone, FAO in collaboration with OPADC is distributing 1,236 quintals of Katomani maize to seven woredas in Borena and two woredas in Guji zones.

Health & Nutrition: The measles campaign in Borena, Guji and Bale zones of Oromiya Region has been completed, targeting about 742,436 children from 6 to 59 months. Preliminary results of the campaign revealed an administrative coverage of above 95 percent. To address critical shortage of staff in health facilities in Borena, the RHB¸ with support from WHO, will deploy staff from other zones for three months, who will then be substituted by other staff. It will also work to ensure that facilities are properly supplied. Although the RHB allocated 800,000 Birr to the lowland areas of the region (Borena, Bale, Arsi, East and West Hararghe and East Shoa), there has not yet been a report provided on budget utilisation. RHB/UNICEF’s seven mobile emergency health and nutrition teams are screening children for malnutrition and providing treatment when needed. The teams are also re-opening closed health posts to treat the majority of the severely malnourished, thus building local capacity to better manage the care of acutely malnourished children. Discussions on establishing a monitoring team are on-going; meanwhile, an UNICEF field officer is travelling throughout the zone to monitor activities. As concerns increase of malaria outbreaks, the RHB will distribute in May/June an additional 140,000 ITNs provided by UNICEF. Borena’s September 2005 Malaria Microplan identified 1,016,305 people living in malaria affected areas. Of the overall 406,522 nets required (two ITNs/household at risk of malaria), 274,000 have been distributed so far or are on pipeline, leaving a gap of 132,522 ITNs.

International Medical Corps (IMC) started its planned OTP and SFP projects in Dire, Moyale, and Miyo. UNFPA, in collaboration with IMC, will provide reproductive health services in Moyale, Arero, Teltele, and Dire woredas in Borena, expected to begin in May. These include: clean delivery kits for safe motherhood, condoms and PEP kits to prevent HIV transmission, treatment for rape victims and patients with sexually transmitted diseases, and training for health workers and traditional birth attendants. Outside of Borena, in Kombolcha, East Hararghe zone, preliminary results from a nutritional survey conducted by GOAL from 2 to 5 April indicate a serious malnutrition rate due to such aggravating factors as relatively high morbidity rates of infectious diseases, such as diarrhoea, poor potable water availability, and poor measles, BCG, and vitamin A supplementation coverage rates for children under-five. CARE also reports an increase of admission rates in its CTC in East Hararghe zone.

Food: In Borena zone, DPPA is continuing its daily dispatches and, to date, 88 percent of the February allocation (2,500 tonnes) and 97 percent of the March allocation (2,500 tonnes) have been dispatched. DPPA is also processing the allocation for the month of April. The transportation of food aid has been satisfactory in the first months of 2006 and a significant improvement in dispatches has been observed in April. Food arrivals and distributions are confirmed by WFP monitoring. In addition to the relief programme, 114,559 people are benefiting from the Productive Safety Net Programme (PNSP). In the first distributions in 2006, the food basket contained only cereals, but from April on the PSNP beneficiaries will receive a full basket containing cereals, pulses and vegetable oil. In the first quarter of 2006, WFP’s Targeted Supplementary Food Programme has allocated CSB and vegetable oil for 99,383 beneficiaries in Oromiya Region and to date 50 percent of the allocation has been dispatched. In Borena zone, food distributions will take place to seven woredas following the release of nutritional screening results in May/June. Some 30,000 school children are assisted by WFP's school feeding programme in 81 different schools, and food for the second semester is currently under dispatch. Recent rains have reportedly damaged roads in some areas of Borena zone and stopped some trucks carrying relief food. The OPADC and the Zonal FSDPP Office will use trucks and budget previously allocated for water tankering to re-transport relief food stored in town centres to identified distribution sites in different woredas.

FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

DPPA has organised sectoral meetings with key government and NGO partners to assess the funding requirements per sector from April to June, the funding pledged by different partners, and the gaps. NGOs have been requested to provide the monetary value of their response so that this can be used to calculate the funding gaps. Some sectors have organised taskforce meetings to discuss feedback on the sectoral response plans and consolidate funding information. The WES taskforce will have an extra-ordinary meeting on Tuesday, 2 May, at 10 AM, for this purpose.

Non-food contributions so far have come from USAID-OFDA, CIDA, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Turkey, French Natcom, Oxfam International, and the UN’s CERF. US$ 2 million is secured for emergency destocking from the Pastoralist Livelihood Initiative (PLI is a USAID-funded two year project). The Humanitarian Response Fund Review Board has met on 24 April and approved four priority projects in health, water and sanitation, and livestock vaccination treatment, in total worth more than US$4 million. Another six projects in emergency nutrition, health, and water and sanitation are under review for approval by early next week. The HRF is funded by the government of UK through DFID. The total contributions to date – confirmed and pledged – amount to approximately US$ 37.5 million, a large portion of which is in response to the drought emergency.

For further information please contact Kirsten Mildren, OCHA Information, [email protected]