Impact of Disaster Risk Management Interventions in Humanitarian Programmes on Household Food Security
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[Type text] Research on THE IMPACT OF DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS IN HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMMES ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY The Case of East Africa, Ethiopia, Amhara Region, North Wollo Zone 1 The research is funded by: United Nations Shimeles Hailu Woldia, North Wollo, Ethiopia June, 2013 [Type text] Disclaimer Financial support for this study was provided by UNOCHA’s Policy Development Studies Branch. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of UNOCHA. Responsibility for the opinions expressed in this report rests solely with the author and publication of this document does not imply endorsement by UNOCHA. Author: HAILU, Shimeles i Photos: Cover page: A public transport minibus is saved at the edge of a collapsed bridge due to severe flooding on the highway from the capital city Addis Ababa to the northern part of Ethiopia. This bridge is located at Habru district, Mersa town in July 2011. Photo by Tadele Seifu Disclaimer page: Severe landslides that caused the deaths of 24 people who have lived at the bottom of the mountain and resulted in the loss of households’ property in North Wollo Zone. Habru district in July 2011. Photo by Alemayehu Abraham ii ©2013 UNOCHA Policy Development Studies Branch. All Rights Reserved. This copyrighted material is published with the intention of strengthening humanitarian interventions and innovations. Thus, it is permitted to use the whole or parts of the report for non-commercial purpose. — OCHA Policy Development Studies Branch SHIMELES HAILU P.O. Box 93 Woldia, North Wollo Ethiopia Tel: +251 911 744 412 Mail: [email protected] [email protected] iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank God, Who makes everything possible. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to UNOCHA’s Policy Development Studies Branch for the opportunity created and the funds provided. I don’t miss this chance to thank Professor Daniel Maxwell and Mr. Alemat Hagos for their commitment and interest towards research that inspired me to realize my internal research potential planted during my stay at the research center. I would like to express my appreciation to Betsegaw Botamo, Tesfaye Getachewu and Tadele Seifu for their valuable support in conducting the study. I am also thanking households that provided the required data, the North Wollo Zone Administration and food security offices, and the Raya Kobo, Habru, Meket and Wadla districts’ administration and agriculture offices for their support and facilitation in collecting the necessary data. I am indebted to my friends Tilahun Shiferaw and Nancy Kennedy for their moral support. My pleasure also goes to Mr. Sanuel Tilahun and Eyasu Yimam for their honorable personal cooperation and advice. Finally, special thanks are owed to my wife Frehiwot Yirga and my children Nathanael and Lydia for their Love, Moral support and Prayer, which makes me strong. iv CONTENTS Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... iv CONTENTS ..............................................................................................................................................................v ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Preamble ....................................................................................................................................................2 1.2 Background of The Study Area ...............................................................................................................3 2.1 Data Set .....................................................................................................................................................8 2.2 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................................8 2. Methodology and Data Set of The study ........................................................................................................9 3.1 Identification of Hazards/Disasters/ ...................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Household Coping Capacity and Vulnerability to Hazards .................................................................... 15 3.3 Implications of Humanitarian Interventions.......................................................................................... 30 3.3.1 Pros of Humanitarian Interventions ............................................................................................... 30 3.3.2 Cons of Humanitarian Interventions .............................................................................................. 31 3.4 The Scope Boundary, Time Boundary and Modality of Humanitarian Assistance ............................... 33 4.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 36 4.2 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................. 36 ANNEX .........................................................................................................................................................................I 4.1 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................I 4.2 TABLES AND FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. IV v ACRONYMS ACSI Amhara Credit & Savings Institution AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Belg The short rainy season in Ethiopia from February to March ChSA Charities and Societies Agency CSA Central Statistical Agency DRR/M Disaster Risk Reduction/Management EPRDF Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front FAO Food and Agriculture Organization GDP Gross Domestic Product HVCA Hazard, Vulnerability, and Capacity Assessment HFS Household Food Security HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HTP Harmful Traditional Practice IPM Integrated Pest Management KA Kebele Administration, Amharic the lowest government administrative Kebele Lowest government administrative organ/structure Km Kilometers LDCs Least Developed Countries Meher The main rainy season in Ethiopia from June to September MDGs Millennium Development Goals NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations OVC Orphans and Vulnerable Children PADET Professional Alliance for Development in Ethiopia PLWHA People Living with HIV/AIDS PSNP Productive Safety Net Programme SNNPR Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Woreda The fourth tier of elected government in the administrative structure WVE World Vision Ethiopia vi ABSTRACT The other aggravating factors for food insecurity North Wollo Zone is one of the 11 zones in Amhara and vulnerability have been the low level of Regional State of Ethiopia, East Africa. The zone is personal savings and the lack of household assets among the most-disaster prone areas of the country and possessions. In developed economies the and drought, crop pests, flood, frost, and hailstorms occurrence of a disaster risk may not directly affect have repeatedly struck it for many years. The household food security. Instead, disasters typically livelihoods of the households of the zone depend affect the savings and assets of a household. In on subsistence farming. Small landholdings, contrast, in the study zone a disaster risk has direct environmental degradation, and population implications on household food security, as the pressure have created additional complications. level of savings is insignificant to absorb shocks. For the last three decades, communities and In the study area, the existence of local institutions, governments have been working in collaboration norms, indigenous knowledge and early warning with humanitarian development partners to ensure systems can be used as tools to bring food self- food security at the household level in the study sufficiency to the household level. area. But due to the lack of intentional and integrated Disaster Risk Management (DRM) with The research focuses on tackling the dependency of household food security, households remain unable households on humanitarian assistance by to achieve food self-sufficiency. This gap is leading integrating such assistance with clear and communities, governments and humanitarian sustainable empowerment strategies. It analyses partners to expend resources repeatedly on the the need to formulate a government-level “Big same issues and locations without addressing the Programme” that emphasizes household food root causes of food security. After three decades of security and resilience and which has both a defined intensive food security, food aid and rehabilitation and specific time frame and operational