Drought Response Update Preparedness and response efforts are being scaled up to mitigate the impact of La Niña-induced drought conditions in the southern and south-eastern pastoral areas of the country. The Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector’s (DRMFSS) Early Warning Directorate and the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoW&E) were in during the previous week to assess the drought situation and discuss ongoing response activities with regional government and humanitarian partners. DRMFSS noted that the updated emergency response plan, which identifies prioritized sectoral requirements, will be shared with partners to guide response and resource mobilization activities. The document will complement needs identified in the 2011 Humanitarian Requirements Document. Moreover, a temporary command post will be established in Jijiga town to strengthen regional and federal level coordination and assist in mobilizing response activities. DRMFSS also reported that, in addition to regular food assistance distributions, it will authorize special food distributions for vulnerable communities in different parts of the country as required and informed by case-by-case assessment findings. For its part, the MoW&E acknowledged the challenges the sector is facing in emergency response, primarily water trucking operations, including poor water quality, long distances between collection points and affected areas, high prices for truck rental and fuel, and shortages of water storage containers and water purification chemicals, and called for coordinated efforts to address the issue. The Ministry has allocated some six million birr (approximately US$ 352,941) for borehole maintenance and spare part procurement to support the interventions of the 157 trucks that are providing services in the affected areas. The delegation also encouraged humanitarian partners to further scale up their response to the drought.

In , emergency preparedness has been initiated in several sectors. Provision of livestock health care, feed and water interventions have started in Dalul, , , Ab’ala, , Kurri, and ; emergency water interventions have begun in Bidu, Elidar, Kurri and Teru (Mebay kebele); and emergency seed provision has started in Dalul, Berahle, Ab’ala, Megale, Argoba, Dalefage, , , Semurobi, , Awra and . A multi-agency team will conduct a rapid assessment in the drought-affected areas of the region in the coming days. The Amhara Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau (DPPB) is also preparing to deploy a multi-sectoral team to conduct rapid assessment in Ebenat woreda (South Gonder zone) and Abergele woreda (Wag Himra zone), where serious water shortages have been reported. For more information, contact: ocha- [email protected], [email protected] & [email protected]

Health Update The Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI) reported a total of 133 cases of measles (no fatality) from (Seweyna and woredas in , Chiro woreda in West Hararghe, and Bule Hora, Miyo, Yabelo, Teltelle and Moyale in Borena zone) and Somali Region (Dare woreda) between 7 and 14 March 2011. SNNPR, which has been reporting the highest number of new cases each week since the outbreak started, did not report any new cases during the week. Health partners are supporting case management and awareness raising in addition to enhancing disease surveillance activities. WHO provided one inter-agency emergency health kit (IAEHK) that can treat 10,000 people to Oromia Region and supported the preparation of the regional emergency preparedness and response plan (EPRP). In the past week, UNICEF sent additional 74 Essential Drug Kits (EDKs) with renewable medical supplies to health facilities and mobile health teams in Somali Region. Each kit contains drugs and medical supplies that can support the medical needs of 2,500 people.

With outbreak investigation underway, EHNRI also reported four new cases of meningitis in SNNPR during the week, making the total number of cases reported nationally in the last three weeks 44. Case management is ongoing and a team including experts from EHNRI and the regional health bureau has been deployed to investigate the situation. For more information, contact: [email protected] & [email protected]

Market Watch The latest market watch, issued by WFP for February 2011, reports that the country level general inflation, calculated based on the 12 months moving average, increased by 9.8 per cent for general inflation, 3.7 per cent for food inflation and 19.6 per cent for non-food inflation as compared to the same period last year. The food consumer price index (CPI) stood has increased by 12.8 pre cent during the month. Most of the components of the food index, except cereals and meat, showed increases compared to prices in February 2010. The increase in the food CPI is attributed to the rise in food component indices including pulses, vegetable and fruits. The month long retail fuel price adjustment introduced on 10 March 2011, based on the analysis of crude oil price changes on the international market, is likely to lead to further price increases in food commodities. Compared to the last adjustment, the report indicates that the increases at Addis Ababa were higher by 10.82 per cent for benzene, 17.43 per cent for diesel and 13.67 per cent for kerosene. For more information, contact: [email protected]