2006 Humanitarian Appeal for Ethiopia

Transcription

1 2006 Humanitarian Appeal for Ethiopia A JOINT GOVERNMENT AND HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS APPEAL J ANUARY, 2006 A DDIS A BABA E THIOPIA

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2006 Humanitarian Appeal GLOSSARY...2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION REVIEW OF THE 2005 HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE STRATEGIES FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE INTERIM STRATEGY FOR NON-FOOD NEEDS WITHIN THE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL LINKAGE WITH PSNP AND MANAGING HUMANITARIAN RISKS CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES HIV/AIDS Gender and Child Protection Education THE 2006 FOOD AND NON-FOOD HUMANITARIAN REQUIREMENTS NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR 2006 APPEAL EMERGENCY FOOD NEEDS AND RESPONSE Assistance Objectives and Requirements Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring Coordination NON-FOOD NEEDS AND RESPONSE Health and Nutrition Assistance Objectives and Requirements Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring Coordination Water and Environmental Sanitation Assistance Objectives and Requirements Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring Coordination Agriculture Assistance Objectives and Requirements Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring Coordination OVERALL COORDINATION STRENGTHENING HUMANITARIAN CAPACITY SECTOR CAPACITY STRENGTHENING Emergency Food Emergency Non-food Health and Nutrition Water and Environmental Sanitation Agriculture DPPA CAPACITY STRENGTHENING...26 ANNEXES...27 ANNEX 1: HOTSPOT AREAS REQUIRING URGENT ASSISTANCE IN SOMALI REGION AND BORENA ZONE OF OROMIYA, DECEMBER ANNEX 3: COSTING FOR POTENTIAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION EMERGENCIES IN 2006 FOR ETHIOPIA BY REGION...29 ANNEX 4: POPULATION AT RISK IN 2006 FOR EPIDEMIC-PRONE DISEASES IN ETHIOPIA BY REGION...29 ANNEX 5: UNPREDICTABLE ACUTE WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION REQUIREMENTS...30 ANNEX 6: EMERGENCY LIVESTOCK HEALTH REQUIREMENTS BY REGION FOR ANNEX 7: EMERGENCY SEED REQUIREMENTS BY REGION/CROPPING SEASON FOR ANNEX 8: EMERGENCY/RECOVERY DE-STOCKING AND RE-STOCKING REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNEX 9: EMERGENCY ANIMAL FEED SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNEX 10: EMERGENCY FORAGE SEED SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNEX 11: COST BREAKDOWNS FOR WEIGHING BRIDGES

3 GLOSSARY 2006 Humanitarian Appeal ACT ARI Belg CFR CRS CTC Deyr DHS DPPA DPPC/B/D DPPFSCO EFSR EHNTF ENCU EOS/TSF EPSP EPRU EU/EC EW/EWS FAO FMoH FSCB GAM GOAL Gu Hagaya HIV/AIDS HPAI H5N1 IDPs IDSR IC IEC IRS ITNs kg LWG MDGs Meher M/BoARD MoE MoH MoWR NDPPF NFCS NGOs NID NMA PIM PLWHA PSNP Antemisinine Combination Therapy Acute Respiratory Infections Short rain season from March to May (National) Case Fertility Rate Catholic Relief Service Community Theraputic Centres Short rain season from October to December (Somali) Demographic and Health Survey Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission/Bureau/Department Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Food Security Coordination Office Emergency Food Security Reserve Emergency Health and Nutrition Task Force Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit Extended Outreach Strategy/Targeted Supplementary Feeding Emergency Preparedness Support Programme Emergency Preparedness and Response Units European Union/European Commission Early Warning/Early Warning System Food and Agriculture Organization Federal Ministry of Health Food Security Coordination Bureau Global Acute Malnutrition Irish NGO Main rain season from March to June (Somali) Short rain season from September to November (Borena, Konso, and South Omo areas) Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Highly pathogenic avian influenza Avian influenza strain Internally Displaced Persons Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System Information Centre Information, Education and Communication Indoor Residual Spraying Insecticide-treated Nets Kilogram Livestock Working Group Millennium Development Goals Long and heavy rain season usually from June to September (National) Ministry/Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry of Education Ministry of Health Ministry of Water Resources National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Fund Non-food Contingency Stock Non Governmental Organisations National Immunisation Days National Metrology Agency Programme Implementation Manual People Living with HIV/AIDS Productive Safety Net Programme 2

4 RDT Region SAM SC-UK SNNPR STDs SSCG UN UNDP UNICEF UNOCHA USAID WES WFP WHO Woreda WPV WVI Zone 2006 Humanitarian Appeal Rapid Diagnostic Test The higher administrative structure set by the Federal Government to look after all zones and woredas Severe Acute Malnutrition Save the Children UK Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples Region Sexually Transmitted Diseases Seed Security Consultative Group United Nations United Nations Development Programme United Nations Children's Fund United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs United States Agency for International Development Water and Environmental Sanitation World Food Programme World Health Organization District, consisting of kebeles or peasant associations, which are the lowest administrative unit of the government Wild Poliovirus World Vision International (NGO) Administrative unit (consisting of several woredas) 3

5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As Ethiopia enters 2006, the Government and humanitarian partners are already preparing themselves for a crisis in the southern and southeastern pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of Somali and Oromiya regions, which have not received rain recently. The threat of avian influenza reaching Ethiopia s borders is another serious concern requiring preparedness at all levels in order to rapidly detect the virus s introduction into the country and minimise its spread in the case of its occurrence. Malaria, measles, and meningitis all require intense preventative interventions to control their threat. Consideration must also be given to the unpredictable needs that may occur during the year, such as floods, and other fast-onset disasters. It is also anticipated that the Government s Productive Safety Net Programme 1 (PSNP) will be expanded in 2006 to include an increased caseload in the previous PSNP regions, the new region of Afar as well as plans to cover Somali Region later in the year. The PSNP will provide assistance to predictable chronically food insecure populations, while households that are subject to sudden external shocks that cause them to become acutely food insecure are assisted through the Humanitarian Appeal. Overall, the total number of food aid beneficiaries in the Humanitarian Appeal is 2.6 million, of which 69 percent are in the critically-affected pastoralist and agro-pastoralist areas. For the first time in decades there are no emergency food beneficiaries in Tigray and Harari Regions this year. These and other chronically food insecure populations are covered under the PSNP. Non-food needs for the country remain high, particularly in drought affected parts of the country. The impact of the current drought on Somali and Oromiya pastoralists has been further exacerbated by the influx of huge numbers of livestock from the drought stricken areas of northeastern Kenya and southwestern Somalia. Increasing resource and asset depletion meant that food aid and the provision of veterinary drugs alone can t guarantee the survival of livestock and pastoral livelihoods anymore. Enhancing post-drought recovery necessitate a range of appropriate interventions to mitigate the impacts of drought and save pastoral livelihoods. These include: the provision of water and animal feeds for livestock; fodder production; market intervention (through destocking and other means); and restocking activities. The total emergency food required for the year is estimated to be 339,090 tonnes, of which 238,024 tonnes is considered to be carry-over pledges and stock from 2005, leaving a net requirement of 101,066 tonnes. The humanitarian assistance requirements for both food and non-food for 2006 are summarised below. Table 1: Summary of 2006 Humanitarian Assistance Requirements Sector Gross Requirements Available Resources Net Requirements Food Gross: 339,090 tonnes Net: 101,066 tonnes 145,000, ,000,000 43,000,000 Supplementary food component of the EOS/TSF 2 Gross: 59,877 tonnes 36,800,000 25,200,000 11,600,000 Net: 15,495 tonnes Food Sub-total 181,800, ,200,000 54,600,000 Health and Nutrition 73,283, ,283,654 Water and Environmental Sanitation 14,111,896 2,216,242 11,895,654 Agriculture 18,628, ,628,884 Disaster Preparedness and Response/ Capacity Strengthening 5,409, ,409,800 Overall Co-ordination 1,900, ,900,000 Non-food Sub-total 113,334,234 2,216, ,117,992 Grand Total 295,134, ,416, ,717,992 1 The core mechanism of the PSNP is to provide cash or food resource transfers to meet basic needs in exchange for labour-based public works, whilst providing direct support to the most vulnerable. 2 The Enhanced Outreach Strategy/Targeted Supplementary Feeding for Child Survival Initiative. 4

6 1. INTRODUCTION In the pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of Ethiopia, particularly in Somali and Oromiya regions, a lack of rain has caused drought conditions and resulted in about 1.7 million people in southeastern Ethiopia facing extreme food insecurity. The emerging situation in the pastoral areas is most critical in Afder, Liben and parts of Gode zones in Somali Region and southeastern parts of Oromiya Region (refer to Annex 1 for a map of the affected area). Urgent needs for Somali Region and southeastern parts of Oromiya, and other pocket areas have been detailed in the various sectoral requirements in this Appeal. In the other parts of the country, the food security outlook for 2006 is generally positive in most crop growing areas of the country due to an overall good performance of meher rains; though, some pocket areas require close follow up and immediate interventions. In 2006, emergency multi-sectoral interventions will be needed from the beginning of the year to prevent a widespread crisis in pastoral areas, especially relating to acute emergency non-food needs. The 2006 Humanitarian Appeal focuses on life-saving and livelihoods protection activities in the four key sectors of food, agriculture, health and nutrition, and water and environmental sanitation. The Appeal further outlines the approaches that are being developed to address emergency non-food needs, both recurrent and unpredictable, including improvement on the existing methodologies and strategies. Given the work done in non-food needs assessments in 2005, a key challenge for Ethiopia is the development of a more sustainable approach to responding to non-food emergency needs, recognising that many of these are recurrent/predictable, and should be dealt with in a sustainable manner. It also elaborates on managing humanitarian risks in the context of the important linkages with the multi-annual Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), which addresses chronic food insecurity needs. It is anticipated that the caseload for this programme will be widened in order to cover the needs of most of the predictably food insecure, resulting in a decrease in the number of beneficiaries covered by emergency food aid programmes in comparison to previous years. As part of the Government of Ethiopia s ongoing food security strategy, the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency 3 (DPPA) remains within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD), alongside the Food Security Coordination Bureau (FSCB). The DPPA will continue to respond to the acute needs of the unpredictable food insecure while the FSCB will focus on improving long-term food and livelihood security for the chronically food insecure through various food security programmes. The 2006 Humanitarian Appeal is the outcome of a joint effort by the Government of Ethiopia and the humanitarian community. Led and coordinated by the DPPA, the Appeal is based on assessments undertaken by the four sector task forces, 4 with a conscious effort to also consider recent developments in improving the non-food needs assessments. The analysis of the ongoing humanitarian situation in Ethiopia was undertaken by the multi-agency Steering Committee assisted by the Editorial Sub-group 5 which consolidated the sectoral inputs. It is expected that all implementing partners will use this Appeal as a guide and participate in coordination mechanisms. 3 Formally the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC). 4 The four Sector Task Forces are: Food; Agriculture and Livestock; Health and Nutrition; and Water and Environmental Sanitation. Members represent relevant line ministries, DPPA departments, NGOs, donors and UN agencies. 5 Members of the Editorial Sub-group include DPPA, SC-UK, UN agencies, and USAID. 5

7 2. REVIEW OF THE 2005 HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE 2006 Humanitarian Appeal In 2005 the Government of Ethiopia and the humanitarian community faced several major humanitarian challenges. These challenges were mainly related to the difficulties encountered by regional authorities in reporting on food allocations, which further delayed food dispatches, as well as the slow start of the PSNP. The 2005 Humanitarian Appeal was initially under-resourced, particularly with regards to nonfood assistance. Under-funding also affected the coverage of food requirements for the first three months of the year. Accordingly, a Flash Update to the 2005 Humanitarian Appeal was launched in May to draw attention to the deteriorating conditions in the country. The situation improved in the second half of 2005 following significant progress in the humanitarian response through enhanced food distributions and cash transfers as part of the PSNP. This was coupled with reasonably abundant rains during the belg (March May) and the meher (June October) seasons which helped ease extreme food insecurity conditions across most of the country. However, a number of humanitarian risks remained. With the start of the PSNP, a programme complementary to the Humanitarian Appeal, partners working on the two processes are coordinating closely to effectively address humanitarian concerns. This complementarity was not fully appreciated in 2005 and the late support to the Humanitarian Appeal as well as delays in the implementation of the PSNP resulted in increasing malnutrition levels in pocket areas across the country. Key lessons have been learned from this experience, however, and actions have been taken to ensure that the two programmes are more closely linked and managed jointly in Special emphasis has been placed on ensuring that all acute and chronically needy populations in the country receive assistance through either the Appeal or the PSNP in Food: In line with the 2005 Humanitarian Appeal, 3.1 million people were estimated to require food assistance in 2005, translating into 390,000 tonnes of food. For the early response to food needs, carryover stocks from 2004 were used to reach the affected population. However, stocks were limited and the response to the Appeal was weak during the first quarter of the year, making prioritisation necessary with food being allocated only for the very worst-off areas of the country. This included the whole of Afar and Tigray regions, a limited number of districts in Somali, Oromiya, SNNP and Gambella regions. Other areas with important requirements were allocated food only as resource availability allowed. The May Flash Appeal revised food aid needs upwards by an additional 690,000 beneficiaries to 3.8 million people, most of whom required food aid for five or six months. This resulted in further needs of 66,200 tonnes of food, or a total of 456,200 tonnes. Following the Flash Update, the emergency food pipeline improved considerably, and generous contributions from the donors ensured full coverage of emergency food aid needs. The mid-year multi-agency assessment 6 showed that a peak of some 3.3 million people would require emergency food assistance between August and December. This brought the total emergency food aid requirements for 2005 to more than 600,000 tonnes. It was estimated that the needs in the second half of the year were due to unpredictable events like floods and failure of belg rains. These exacerbated some livelihood damage and temporary displacements in the northeastern and southeastern lowlands. Also increased cereal prices, which remained at unseasonably record high levels in 2005, resulted in reduced purchasing power for the most vulnerable populations. Concerted efforts made by all the concerned agencies contributed to preventing severe malnutrition situations during the year, and emergency interventions through blanket supplementary feeding was carried out for shorter periods in a number of districts showing critical levels of malnutrition, including PSNP areas. 6 The assessment evaluated the performance and the impact of the belg rains on crop production and the rains in pastoral areas and established emergency food assistance needs for the second half of the year

8 Food aid pledges made available for 2005 (2004 carry-overs and 2005 pledges) eventually reached 668,000 tonnes, which exceeded 2005 requirements. However, contributions were inadequate in the first half of the year, restricting distribution, especially in the first quarter. Furthermore, in a measure to increase accountability, regional authorities were obliged to provide utilisation reports for previous allocations of food aid. Some regions were unable to provide utilisation reports, thus food dispatches could not proceed as planned in many areas; however, waivers were given to ensure that hotspot woredas received assistance even in the absence of reports. Poor infrastructure and difficulties in transporting also hampered delivery of the allocated relief commodities. Some 430,000 tonnes of relief food were distributed in 2005 as shown in the table below and there is a substantial amount of carry-over stocks and pledges that can cover some of the relief food needs in early 2006, when requirements in pastoral areas may peak. Table 2: 2005 Beneficiaries and Relief Food Requirement and Distribution by Quarter Description January- March April-June July- September October- December January- December Beneficiary (quarterly average in millions) Requirement (tonnes) 150, , ,678 84, ,609 Distributed (tonnes) 76, , ,503 66, ,354 Coverage (percent) Source: DPPA A standard ration of 17.5 kg/person/month of commodities was maintained with cereals, pulses, blended food and vegetable oil distributed to the identified beneficiaries. Availability of pulses, vegetable oil and blended food was however not sufficient throughout the whole year, and requirements for these commodities could not be fully met at all times. This weakened the ration s contribution to an improved nutritional situation amongst vulnerable populations. Overall, 71 percent of the annual requirement was covered. Some key lessons were drawn, including the need for continued attention by all parties to efficient targeting of food resources to the most vulnerable in all regions, particularly in pastoral areas. The importance of being able to respond to urgent humanitarian needs when they occur at the beginning of the year was also demonstrated, as was the importance of keeping a high rapid assessment capacity for identification of the nature and magnitude of sudden-onset crises in order to respond timely to unpredictable needs throughout the year. The capacity of regions to report on utilisation of food allocations needs to be strengthened in order to ensure accountability as well as an efficient emergency food response as planned. Abnormally high prices for staple food, experienced in 2005, highlighted the need for close monitoring of market prices, especially in the current environment where both food and cash is distributed (food and cash under the PSNP, and food under emergency programmes), and substantial local purchases are undertaken. Finally, strong coordination between the PSNP and relief interventions proved to be crucial in order to meet humanitarian needs of the whole food insecure population in an appropriate and timely way. Health and Nutrition: The overall goal of the health and nutrition humanitarian interventions was to reduce human suffering and death due to communicable diseases, acute malnutrition, and epidemics of an emergency nature. To achieve these goals, a total of US$83.7 million was initially required. Alongside the increased number of people suffering from acute malnutrition in the first half of 2005 were outbreaks of measles and malaria, along with the unexpected serious challenge of the importation of Wild Polio Virus from neighbouring Sudan. The May Flash Appeal raised the health and nutrition requirements to a total of US$96 million. Donors contributed US$73.4 million (76.5 percent) to these needs, leaving a shortfall of US$22.6 million (23.5 7

9 percent). In addition, donors responded to a Flash Appeal on avian influenza, securing US$1 million for preparedness activities. Increased efforts were made to address acute malnutrition amongst especially vulnerable groups, through the joint Enhanced Outreach Strategy/Targeted Supplementary Feeding 7 (EOS/TSF) for Child Survival Initiative and NGO supported Community Therapeutic Centres (CTC) programmes. The EOS/TSF Initiative was expanded from one region in 2004 to seven regions in More than 3.5 million children received vitamin A supplementation twice and another 2.3 million once; among the same group some 3.1 million children were de-wormed twice and an additional 1.9 million once. Nearly 3.5 million children and over 800,000 pregnant or nursing women were screened twice, and another 950,000 children and 270,000 women once. More than 470,000 moderately malnourished people received food rations twice during the year under this initiative. Therapeutic care was provided, through the provision of necessary drugs, equipment, technical assistance, and integrated into health facilities. As part of this response, 558 tonnes of therapeutic food were procured and used in feeding centres. The national capacity to treat children suffering from severe acute malnutrition has now increased to 13,400 children (who can be treated at any point in time) from only 2,000 in The required national treatment capacity level is 20,000 children, thus much more investment is required to ensure that this level is reached and that the units provide quality and sustainable services. Gambella Region, where the measles catch-up campaign had not been conducted in prior years due to insecurity, reached through its May campaign 69 percent of the 199,582 children six months to 14 years of age. Measles follow-up campaigns were conducted in Afar Region and in East and West Hararghe zones of Oromiya Region. A total of 1,177,978 children six to 59 months were reached in the two regions, for a coverage of 96 percent. In response to the wild polio virus, 3.5 million children were immunised in priority zones bordering Sudan; 100 percent coverage was obtained. A total of 15 million children were targeted during the successive April, May, July and October NIDs rounds, campaign data reported coverage above 98 percent for each round. The November round reached 96 percent of the targeted children. Monovalent vaccine was used during the two last rounds. Roll Back Malaria partners have distributed three million long-lasting insecticide-treated nets. In addition, 2.9 million doses of the new anti-malaria drug, Artemether-Lumefantrine, and more than one million Rapid Diagnostic Test kits were procured to scale-up the malaria control programme. A further 1.5 million doses of Artemether-Lumefantrine arrived in December The preparation for the possible pandemic of avian influenza was another dimension of the response in Following the recent outbreaks of avian influenza in Asia and its spread to parts of Europe possibly through the migratory birds, the world was confronted with a threat of the first influenza pandemic of the 21 st century. In response to this possibly devastating pandemic, the country engaged in strengthening its emergency preparedness and response. A national task force was established chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister s office, an Emergency Operation Centre was established within the FMoH, and the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Task Force was strengthened. Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES): The 2005 Humanitarian Appeal for the WES sector initially intended to address the needs of approximately 1.2 million people, including PSNP beneficiaries, in order to avert human suffering caused by water shortages as well as poor hygiene and sanitation problems. This estimate was revised in the May Flash Appeal to include a further 2.6 million people and an increase in the financial requirements from an original US$10 million to US$22.2 million. 7 The Enhanced Outreach Strategy/Targeted Supplementary Feeding for Child Survival Initiative is the largest-ever partnership between UNICEF, WFP and the Government of Ethiopia. It targets more than seven million children under-five, as well as pregnant and nursing women, in 325 drought affected districts. It provides a child survival package twice a year of vitamin A supplementation, de-worming, measles catch-up, nutritional screening, referral to supplementary or therapeutic feeding programmes and, increasingly, malaria nets. 8

10 Although water tankering, provision of water purification chemicals, and supply of water containers and hygiene materials constituted the main focus of the 2005 response, also given due attention were the construction of new water supply schemes, as well as the rehabilitation and maintenance of nonfunctional water schemes in affected villages, health centres and schools. Donors contributed a total of US$8.55 million, or 38 percent of the US$22.2 million requested in the Flash Appeal, leaving a shortfall of US$13.6 million (61.5 percent). This shortfall limited the WES sector s ability to prepare for unforeseen water and sanitation emergencies such as the flooding in Somali Region. However, humanitarian partners were able to respond to the flood-affected people by reprogramming regular resources, which were later supplemented by limited resources obtained from a donor. In addition, the shortfall affected such priority areas as the supply of water and sanitation facilities for health institutions in hotspot areas. These were mainly in areas where Therapeutic Feeding Centres were operating and where water supply schemes were damaged by the flooding. It also adversely affected the improvement of water supply and sanitation facilities in parts of SNNP, Oromiya, Amhara, Tigray and Gambella regions that were affected by acute water scarcity. Agriculture: The overall objectives of the 2005 agricultural emergency interventions were to address the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable households and resume and restore the agricultural production of the affected farmers and pastoralists. A total of about US$10.8 (as revised in the May Flash Appeal) was required to implement emergency interventions in crop and livestock subsectors as well as to improve coordination and early warning. However, the overall agricultural emergency response in 2005 was only about 37 percent of the requirement in the livestock subsector and 22 percent of the crop subsector as of November 30, This statistics shows that the overall emergency response for these subsectors was generally well below the required level indicating the magnitude of the caseload. Government Contributions: It is important to note that the government also has made significant contributions to humanitarian actions in 2005 from its own budget. Although detailed estimates of contributions from Ministries are not available as of yet, DPPA reports that it expended the equivalent of US$28 million for personnel and operational costs in support of humanitarian actions. The 2005 Summary Contributions Table is illustrated in Annex 2. 9

11 3. STRATEGIES FOR HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE The 2006 Humanitarian Appeal will give priority to addressing acute needs of vulnerable populations affected by natural disasters, severe and acute drought conditions and other shocks, as well as by conflict. In Ethiopia, vulnerable groups exist among pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and sedentary agriculturists. Specific attention needs to be given to women, children under-five, youth, and adolescents, and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Activities will be designed to address both food and non-food needs of these populations so as to support longer term development objectives of affected communities to the greatest extent possible. Priority for emergency interventions in early 2006 is being given to southern Somali Region and southeastern Oromiya Region, which are affected by severe drought conditions. Such interventions will require coordinated response by the Government and its various humanitarian partners. 3.1 Interim Strategy for Non-Food Needs within the Humanitarian Appeal For this Appeal, sector task forces have attempted, where possible, to differentiate between emergency non-food needs caused by acute crisis situations and recurrent or predictable acute non-food needs. While, it is clear that much more work is necessary to develop a more clearly defined methodology, sector task forces have made significant progress from past appeals in improving the identification of non-food requirements and approaches for interventions. The sector task forces will continue to develop more detailed specific sector methodologies during the first half of 2006 to address the relevant predictable and recurrent non-food needs that cannot be covered by regular government sector programmes in the short and medium term. 3.2 Linkage with PSNP and Managing Humanitarian Risks The PSNP intends to expand its coverage of chronic food insecure populations in 2006 to include most of the chronically food insecure populations under one programme. This leaves the Humanitarian Appeal to provide food assistance to acute food insecure populations in The PSNP intends to cover the six regions included in the 2005 programme (Oromiya, Amhara, Tigray and SNNP, Harar and Dire Dawa), Afar as well as Somali Region. Somali Region, in view of the current drought crisis, will initially be addressed through relief during at least the first few months of Any increased food insecurity during the year can be addressed through a 20 percent contingency provided for within the programme. This includes if beneficiaries already under the PSNP were to encounter external shocks that increase their food gaps above the normal, or if the price of cereal were to augment considerably, eroding the value of cash transfers. Relief programmes will address acute shocks that are beyond the scope of the PSNP to address. Coordination between the DPPA and the FSCB continues to be strengthened at the federal level, and this will further enhance coordination between the PSNP and emergency food programmes. The DPPA will continue to provide direct logistics support to the PSNP for food deliveries. In addition, close monitoring by the Early Warning Department of the DPPA and humanitarian partners will provide information on pockets of severe malnutrition, if they develop, which can be addressed through provision of appropriate nutritional interventions. Non-food interventions in health, nutrition, and water and environmental sanitation will cover vulnerable populations in PSNP woredas. 3.3 Cross-cutting Issues HIV/AIDS Ethiopia has an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 4.4 percent. The effects of HIV/AIDS on individuals, households and communities are multiple compounding aspects of vulnerability, including food insecurity and loss of livelihoods, and exacerbating emergencies. Social instability, disease, violence, conflict and poverty that prevail in emergency situations facilitate the spread of HIV/AIDS. In 10

12 emergencies, as conditions worsen and social norms break down, abuse, exploitation and sexual violence against women and children and risky livelihood strategies increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. The aim of including HIV/AIDS components in emergency interventions is to ensure that the emergency response does not increase beneficiaries vulnerability to HIV infection, and to minimise the impact of emergencies on the HIV/AIDS situation by providing minimum standards of prevention, awareness, protection, care and support within the humanitarian response. To be effective, it is necessary that such activities are appropriate for the specific needs, vulnerabilities and skills of different groups, such as adolescents, young people, and women Gender and Child Protection Because gender is a key element in defining social attitudes, economic inequalities and division of labour at family and community level, it both affects and is effected by people s response to humanitarian situations. The same applies to issues relating to children and adolescents, whose position in their families and communities are seriously affected by humanitarian situations. Without bearing in mind the specific needs of women, men, children and adolescents in these situations, interventions may lead to inadequate or inappropriate responses. Gender and child protection activities require that all actors are committed to conducting a gender and age disaggregated vulnerability analysis (rapid assessment) and then implementing and following up on gender and age responsive programmes. This will require capacity development of organisations working in humanitarian situations, which includes training in codes of conduct relating to sexual exploitation and abuse. Five main areas should be addressed: registration, tracing and reunification; nutrition and food security; health and reproductive health; protection and security; and participation in decision-making and implementation Education In emergencies and crisis situations, education has often been a key intervention in ensuring a return to normalcy, minimising psychosocial stresses, and ensuring children continue to access their rights. However, humanitarian situations often disrupt education, resulting in decreased school attendance, increased drop-out rates, teachers migrating from their assigned school, and school closures. Thus, the humanitarian response should ensure that a functioning primary school system is available, especially to girls, and that alternative basic education is provided to adolescents through adolescent drop in centres/collection points. Strategies to support education in this context include: training programmes for teachers and education personnel on the educational and psychosocial needs of stressed and distressed children and on appropriate teaching methodologies; advocacy and social mobilisation at different levels to increase awareness of the educational and psychosocial needs of crisis-stricken children; and the provision of essential teaching and learning materials and supplies. 8 For an analysis of these areas in the context of Ethiopia, a suggested reference is the article Gender in Emergencies, published in UN-OCHA s November issue of Focus on Ethiopia ( 11

13 4. THE 2006 FOOD AND NON-FOOD HUMANITARIAN REQUIREMENTS 4.1 Needs Assessment Process for 2006 Appeal The 2005 DPPA led Multi-Agency Emergency Food Needs Assessment was conducted in three separate arrangements. 9 The first assessment was on cropping parts of the country that benefit from meher rains, excluding SNNPR. The second assessment covered agro-pastoral and pastoralist areas of Afar and Somali regions and Borena zone in Oromiya Region. The third used a different approach based on household economy and livelihood based data analysis to assess emergency food needs in SNNPR. The assessment in all regions except SNNPR was based on information provided by early warning committees at various levels, experts, community members and the assessment teams observations. Group discussions with communities, including elders/clan leaders, and household surveys were also used in the visited woredas. Semi-structured questionnaires/checklists were used on crop production, livestock production, food and income sources, market situations, food security related programmes (relief, PSNP, and EOS), and risk and coping mechanisms. The analysis and interpretation of results in the first two cases were based on the qualitative judgments of the respondents and the assessment teams. However, the methodology used in the SNNPR assessment was a combination of both a qualitative and quantitative approach. The assessment used the livelihood baseline data established in 2005 for the 40 livelihood zones in the region as a benchmark. The need estimation was multi-factorial, taking into account a wide range of variables such as changes in food and cash crop production, and changes in cash crop and livestock prices. The basic principle underlying the method is that the impact of a current hazard (e.g. current levels of crop production and market prices) is best analysed in the context of a detailed understanding of local patterns of livelihood and how different types of change will affect these. Detailed analyses were completed for each livelihood zone in each woreda, and the results summed across livelihood zones to obtain a single woreda-level result. To identify emergency needs in the non-food sectors, the various task forces conducted rapid assessments in all regions for the development of the 2006 Contingency Plan. Additional assessments were then carried out by the individual task forces in selected woredas. In the health and nutrition sector the methodology was refined for the subsequent assessments in 19 highly vulnerable woredas of six regions for preparation of the Appeal. 10 The Agriculture sector organised consultative meetings with the regions and was also assisted by the joint FAO/WFP crop and food supply assessment carried out in November/December which provided valuable information on the overall weather conditions, 2005 crop performance, seed and livestock situations. 4.2 Emergency Food Needs and Response Assistance Objectives and Requirements Population in need of food assistance: 2,579,510 Emergency food requirements: 339,090 tonnes (approximately US$145 million) Carry-over stocks and new contributions: 238,024 tonnes Net food requirements: 101,066 tonnes (approximately US$ 43 million) Implementing agency: DPPA (Federal and Regional), WFP, NGOs In Tigray, rainfall and crop performance was good as compared to the previous five years even though food self-sufficiency is still far off. However, the food need of the region in general will be covered by the PSNP. 9 Those involved included DPPA, WFP, GOAL, NMA, SC-UK, UN-OCHA, MoARD, FAO, CRS, DPPFSCO, USAID, WVI and BoARD. 10 The findings of the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) were also considered. 12

14 In Amhara, the production prospect is generally good with better livestock condition than past years. However, there was significant crop damage due to pest infestation in the lowlands of North Wello, Wag Hamra, North Shewa, and Ankober. In many parts of Oromiya Region the meher rain performed better than in previous years and surplus production is expected. However, in the lowlands and in some other pocket areas, significant yield reductions were reported due to poor weather conditions, pest infestation and diseases. Most affected areas were East Hararghe, East Shewa, lowland areas of Bale, Arsi, and Liben Woreda of Guji. In East Shewa, there were extended dry periods in pocket areas of Fentale, Boset, Shiraro, Shashemene, Arsi Negelle and Adami Tullu woredas. Some woredas in Borena zone are badly affected by drought. In SNNPR, the overall performance of the rains and production prospect is good but the chronically food insecure part of the population are expected to have food deficit despite the good performance of the season. In addition, woredas that had adverse weather conditions will require emergency assistance specifically lowland parts of Sidama and Guraghe zones that lost most of their maize production. In Dire Dawa Adminstrative Council, decreases in crop production are expected because of dry spells, inadequate rains and pest infestation. Emergency interventions are needed to deal with the insufficient pasture. Except in some pocket areas, the overall food security situation in Benshangul Gumuz Region is reported to be stable. In Gambella Region, agricultural activities were seriously interrupted by the security problem and poor weather conditions requiring emergency assistance for the next six months. In Somali Region, the overall food security prospect is much below normal; deyr performance in five zones in particular was very poor, as were pasture regeneration and water replenishments. Livestock production and their physical condition, along with market demand are also weak. Crop production prospects remain dismal and the food security situation in the region in general is critical. The situation is most serious in Afder, Liben and parts of Gode and about 1.5 million people are in need of emergency assistance. Due to the critical stage of the food security situation, the response will be fully covered by the emergency program at least for the first half of the year. The need for the second half will be revised and updated in July 2006 when there are plans to start the PSNP. In Afar, rain was better in most parts of the region, with the exception of Zone 2, Dubti and Elidar woredas in Zone 1, and parts of Zone 4. Livestock condition improved compared to previous years but reproduction remains poor due to consecutive years of drought, with the exception of goats and camels. The food security prospect is dependent on the upcoming sugum rain, which is expected to commence at the end of February. In general, a total of 2.6 million people are in need of emergency food assistance in 2006, of which 69 percent are in the critically affected pastoral and agro pastoral areas of Borena and Bale zones in Oromiya Region, and Somali and Afar regions while the remaining 31 percent are from the cropping areas across the country. The total food requirement to address the need of this population is estimated to be 339,090 tonnes. The food requirement for the pastoral, agro-pastoral and some pocket belg producing areas is calculated only for the first half of the year. Their needs for the second half will be updated after the end of the 2006 main rainy season. The emergency beneficiary population in Ethiopia requiring food assistance by Region for 2006 is presented in the below map and in Table 3, along with emergency food requirements. Objective of assistance: The emergency food intervention proposed for 2006 will have as its main objectives saving lives in crisis situations, protecting livelihood and enhancing resiliency to shocks, as well as supporting the improved nutrition and health status of children, mothers and other vulnerable people. 13

15 Table 3: Beneficiaries and Emergency Food Requirements 2006 (tonnes) Region Emergency beneficiaries Cereal Pulses Vegetable oil Blended food 11 Total Afar 54,600 4, ,301 6,856 Amhara 154,700 18,770 1, ,457 26,667 B. Gumuz 4, Diredawa 31,160 2, ,010 Gambella 50,200 4, ,355 6,461 Harari Oromiya 733,780 75,958 7,596 2,278 10,699 96,531 SNNP 35,910 3, ,529 Somali 1,514, ,346 13,635 4,090 39, ,518 Tigray Total 2,579, ,920 24,694 7,407 60, ,090 Source: DPPA Description of population in need: The people in need of relief food assistance are highly vulnerable crop-dependent farmers or livestock-dependent pastoralists and agro-pastoralists affected by acute shocks such as adverse weather conditions, below normal or erratic rainfall and extended dry spells during critical periods of the cropping cycle. The lingering effects of the multiple shocks they have sustained in recent years, leading to a gradual depletion of their household asset-base and limited income options, 11 Blended food requirements are for blanket distributions to particularly vulnerable groups, such as children under five, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Where the Enhanced Outreach Strategy is operational, supplementary rations will be targeted to children and women based on nutrition screening and the food requirements are included in the Health and Nutrition sector. 14

16 have further exacerbated the food security situation of these acutely affected populations. In 2006, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists are particularly in need of assistance due to the much below normal rainfall in these areas in the second half of Particularly vulnerable groups that will be targeted for either blanket distributions of supplementary fortified blended food or, where possible, through targeted supplementary feeding to individuals identified as malnourished, including children under-five, pregnant/nursing women and the sick and the elderly. Food basket/strategies for implementation: Emergency food aid needs will be covered by a full food basket, comprised by (in kg/person/month) 15 kg cereals, 1.5 kg pulses and 0.45 kg vegetable oil. The planned supplementary ration for blanket distributions to particularly vulnerable groups consists of 4.5 kg of corn soya blend. The general ration supplies around 2000 kcal/person/day, whilst the supplementary ration supplies 570 kcal/person/day. The modalities for implementation of relief food operations will consist of a monthly general food distribution provided in exchange of labour, gratuitous distributions to labour-poor and other particularly vulnerable beneficiary households, as well as through supplementary feeding schemes. Supplementary feeding schemes are designed to support joint efforts to address global acute malnutrition (GAM), and targeted supplementary feeding under the EOS/TSF will continue and be scaled up in Blanket supplementary feeding will be provided to vulnerable groups in areas where the EOS/TSF initiative is still not operational, and or as an emergency intervention in areas facing very critical food security situations and defined as areas of concern. It is therefore assumed that regular supplementary feeding needs for 2006 that will be captured under EOS/TSF, will provide 59,877 tonnes of food for an estimated 1,092,000 children under 5 and pregnant or nursing women. Carry-over stocks and the pledges of blended food and oil for this initiative amounts to 44,382 tonnes and net requirements for 2006 is therefore 15,495 tonnes. Targeting: Geographic targeting is derived from multi-agency assessments, using triangulation of data on crops, income sources and nutrition. At woreda level, allocations are targeted to the most vulnerable households within communities. National Guidelines for Food Aid Targeting form the basis for the process that is selecting the most needy households for assistance. In areas where the PSNP and relief operations are implemented simultaneously, targeting for the PSNP is done according to separate guidelines developed particularly for this programme. Targeting of emergency beneficiaries at household level should involve direct participation of communities. Should changing situations require retargeting, the DPPA will allocate resources according to the most urgent outstanding requirements. Supplementary food is targeted to individuals identified as malnourished through nutrition screening, or where this is not possible to particularly vulnerable groups, including children under-five, pregnant/lactating women and sick/elderly people. Distributions: Rations are distributed monthly, based on food allocations determined by the regional authorities in consultation with the DPPA. Regions determine food allocation plans by distribution sites based on early warning data, and district committees, composed of community members and local officials, manage food distributions to the beneficiaries. The Emergency Food Security Reserve (EFSR) will remain an important source of food from where resources can be immediately dispatched against guarantee of repayment. In view of the generally serious nutrition situation in Ethiopia, it is crucial that nutritionally adequate ration be distributed to beneficiaries through the full food basket as outlined above. Local purchases: When provided with cash contributions, preference is to purchase food locally, provided that local purchases meet delivery schedules for timely distributions to beneficiaries. The quantity of food purchased locally increased in 2005 compared to 2004, with more than 300,000 tonnes delivered in Due to an overall positive meher harvest, it is expected that substantial amounts of locally produced food will be available for purchase in The local production capacity for fortified blended food is now more than 200 tonnes/day. A better estimate of quantities available for local purchase may be determined through the forthcoming Cereal Availability Study. 15

17 In view of last year s exceptionally high cereal and livestock prices in regional and local markets, a strengthening of market analysis and monitoring of prices for staple food will be important. Such monitoring is crucial to evaluate the impacts of local purchases, and food and cash distributions on markets. Tight coordination should be forged between relief operations and the PSNP in this respect. Ports, overland transport, warehousing and inland transport: In 2005, the Djibouti port handled about one million tonnes, and the capacity is assessed as sufficient for handling of 2006 requirements. It is expected to continue to be an important entry for relief cargoes, along with other feasible ports. The road infrastructure from the port to major logistic hubs is in good operational condition, and the trucking fleet has satisfactory capacity to deal with the quantities to be delivered to various food distribution points around the country. The DPPA and EFSRA have adequate warehouse space to receive and off-load trucks promptly. The direct delivery from vessels to trucks is supported by use of transit warehouses in the port whenever there is a priority load by the Government. When required, on short notice, additional commercial warehouses are available for lease. HIV/AIDS: Partners will take action to mitigate the negative consequences of increased population movement and contact caused by food distribution by improving distribution practices to protect women from increased risk. Areas with protracted emergencies will be targeted for community mobilisation programmes, including in pastoralist areas, to build community capacity and ensure that orphans and vulnerable children are cared for within their own communities. As a part of the ongoing training of truck drivers on HIV/AIDS, a facility will be set up inside of WFP warehouse in Djibouti Port, where drivers can participate in various awareness-raising activities. Food requirements for 2006 are presented below in Table 4. Table 4: Food Requirements, 2006 Area of Need Estimated Beneficiaries Net Requirements Net Emergency Food Requirements (101,066 tonnes) 2,579, ,000,000 Net EOS/Targeted Supplementary Feeding (9,947 tonnes of fortified blended food and 5,546 tonnes 1,092,334 11,600,000 of vegetable oil) Community mobilisation against HIV/AIDS in emergencies (pilot in five woredas) 112,350 35,000 Counterpart training for improved distribution practices to protect beneficiaries against the risk of HIV/AIDS ,000 Total 54,705,000 Source: DPPA Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring Implementation of food aid relief programmes is for the majority of woredas undertaken by federal, regional and woreda level DPPA officials, and by NGOs in their respective areas of operation. Monitoring of food dispatches from port to warehouse and distribution site will be carried out through the WFP/DPPA commodity tracking system, including comparison between allocations against requirements and allocations against dispatches for all partners (bilaterals, NGOs and WFP). Relief agencies also monitor arrivals of food at woreda level, quantity of relief food distributed against planed and stock levels at distribution points. Periodic food utilisation surveys are also carried out, complementing the above regular relief food aid monitoring Coordination Coordination mechanisms for relief food response are fully in place at federal level through the Food Aid Task Force, which ensure information sharing and coordination of interventions of the relief agencies 16

18 based on the plan for national requirements, disaggregated by woreda. Coordination at regional and subregional level will be strengthened in order to ensure proper planning and implementation at all levels. DPPA and the FSCB will continue to be coordinated closely on overlapping issues between relief programmes and the PSNP. 4.3 Non-food Needs and Response Health and Nutrition Assistance Objectives and Requirements The overall objective of the health and nutrition Appeal is to minimise human suffering and save lives by responding to major health and nutrition emergencies. For the avian influenza threat, the estimated requirements are based on international experience with consideration of the Ethiopian context and funds already received. The health and nutrition sector is seeking US$73 million. Severe acute malnutrition: Malnutrition among children in Ethiopia remains unacceptably high, with stunting rates of 46 percent (severe stunting rates of 24 percent) and wastage rates of 11 percent. The EOS implementation has led to the identification of hundreds of thousands of severely malnourished children at the community level, and has led to an increased demand from communities for therapeutic feeding using both in- and out-patient approaches for better service coverage. Support has been provided to increase the total national capacity for treatment of severely malnourished children from 4,300 to 13,400 between January and December The main challenge now is to sustain and still increase this capacity for therapeutic feeding, while at the same time building the overall national capacity to address nutrition in all its aspects. Despite great efforts from the FMoH to integrate the management of severe malnutrition into the minimum health service package, the health budget allocation does not yet support the cost of the necessary supplies and technical assistance. Requirements for treatment of the estimated 141,511 severe malnourished children include procurement of anthropometric material, therapeutic products and drugs that are part of the protocol, and training of health workers. Enhanced Outreach Strategy: The EOS/TSF reached over 4.8 million children twice during 2005 (with a six-month interval), and 3.4 million once. The strategy addresses the immediate causes of malnutrition and includes high impact child survival interventions such as bi-annual vitamin A supplementation, deworming, screening of children, pregnant and lactating women, and the referral of malnourished children to Targeted Supplementary Feeding (DPPA/WFP) and therapeutic feeding. In addition, children not previously immunised for measles are also receiving measles vaccination. This integrated approach is essential to access the most vulnerable children and mothers at the community level with a minimum package of health and nutrition services. It will be pursued in 2006, targeting twice a year 6.8 million children under five years of age and 1.5 million pregnant or nursing women living in drought-prone woredas. Avian influenza preparedness: The total cost for avian influenza basic preparedness has been estimated at US$1 million. This will cover: the strengthening of an early warning mechanism for detection and containment, the strengthening of the national laboratory capacity to confirm human cases, the establishment of a preparedness and response coordination system, IEC, drugs and related health supplies. Should the threat actually materialize, a Flash Appeal will be issued. Measles: During the measles campaigns, 28.3 million children were covered. A catch-up campaign is crucial to strengthen routine immunisation and maintain the herd immunity at a protective level. In the case of Ethiopia, routine measles coverage remains insufficient (estimated at 67 percent in 2005). From July 2005 to December 2005, 357 cases of measles were reported in Afar Region with a CFR of 4.2 percent. From July to October 2005, 195 cases were reported with 14 deaths in Somali Region (CFR seven percent). An estimated 12.6 million children will need to be reached to avoid measles outbreaks in the various regions during Requirements, which include vaccines, consumables, IEC and operational costs especially for hard to reach children in pastoralists areas, total US$25 million. 17

19 Polio: Ethiopia made considerable progress in Polio eradication, as confirmed by the absence of Wild Poliovirus (WPV), during a period of nearly four years. In December 2004, WPV was isolated in a child with AFP in the area bordering Sudan. In 2005, an additional 21 cases of WPV were detected. Five rounds of NIDs have been conducted in 2005, the two latest rounds were conducted with MOPV vaccine. An estimated 16 million children 0-5 years of age will need to be reached by Polio Supplementary Immunisation Activities in 2006, the cost of which will be covered through other sources. Malaria: Ethiopia is one of the most malaria-epidemic prone countries in Africa. Rates of mortality and morbidity dramatically increases (by three-to-five fold) during epidemics. The country experienced intense widespread epidemics in 1988, 1994/1995, and 1998/1999. From March until December 2003, a more recent epidemic had devastating effects in 3,689 villages in 211 woredas, resulting in over 6.1 million cases with estimated 79,500 deaths (+/- 34,500). These figures reflect the serious consequence of malaria infection in Ethiopia, against the background of one the highest malnutrition rates in the world. About four percent of the population might be at risk for epidemic malaria in 2006 (3.1 million people). Requirements include ACTs, RDTs, other drugs and consumables, ITNs, insecticide for IRS, and operational costs including training, and total US$13.3 million. Meningitis: The meningitis belt stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia. Massive outbreaks of meningococcal disease strike populations intermittently. In 2006, approximately 2.7 million people could be considered as most at risk for meningitis outbreaks. Requirements include drugs, vaccines, consumables, operational costs. Diarrhoeal diseases, ARI and other communicable diseases: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) and diarrhoeal diseases, along with malaria and measles, are considered the major causes of death in children under five years of age. An estimated nine million people could be made more vulnerable to common diseases in case of drought, floods, and other shocks. The intervention will focus on children under five years of age as well as pregnant or nursing women. Requirements include emergency drugs and consumable kits, operational costs for training, health education and mobile teams. A summary of health and nutrition sector requirements is presented in Table 5, and by region in Annex 3. Annex 4 presents the population at risk for epidemic-prone diseases in Ethiopia by region, for Table 5: Health and Nutrition Sector Requirements, 2006 Number of People Area of Need at Risk/Affected Requirements Malaria 3,100,000 13,264,069 Meningitis 2,709,000 4,831,841 Diarrhoeal diseases, ARI, and 9,498,239 11,495,461 other communicable diseases Avian influenza -- 1,000,000 Measles 12,600,000 25,021,503 Severe acute malnutrition 141,511 9,970,120 Enhanced Outreach Strategy 8,330,881 7,700,660 Total -- 73,283,654 Source: FMoH Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring The FMoH and health bureaus, through the woreda health offices and health institutions, will take the lead in the implementation of the health component in the Appeal. The Emergency Health and Nutrition Task Force (EHNTF) will deliver its technical assistance to the FMoH. To improve the flow of information and avoid duplication of efforts, NGOs and UN agencies active in the response to the Appeal 18

20 are expected to work closely with the FMoH. The FMoH, with the EHNTF, will organise forums to discuss the Appeal and response, and will hold follow-up meetings to monitor progress. The EHNTF may organise a special group to work out the modalities for follow-up and monitoring Coordination The EHNTF, chaired by the FMoH, will be used as the main coordination mechanism at federal level. The regional health bureaus, in collaboration with humanitarian actors in the specific regions, will also organise similar forums at regional level Water and Environmental Sanitation Assistance Objectives and Requirements The 2006 WES Appeal has been developed on the basis that a total of two million people are likely to be critically affected by water and sanitation scarcity due to different hazards and threats, and will need emergency response with an outlay of US$11.9 million. Somali Region and Borena zone of Oromiya Region are regarded as the first priority due to poor rains. The request for this year is 50 percent lower than 2005, reflecting the focus on acute emergency needs and greatly improved assessment methodology. Table 6 below presents a summary of acute unpredictable WES requirements in 2006, which are presented in greater detail in Annex 5. Table 6: Acute Unpredictable WES Sector Requirements in 2006 Region People Affected Resource Requirement Available Resources Additional Resource Requirement Afar 73, , ,788 Amhara 305,500 2,820, ,820,134 Dire Dawa 10, , ,511 Gambella 40, , ,681 Harari 14, , ,422 Oromiya 308,900 1,876,054 94,579 1,781,475 SNNPR 200,000 1,660, ,660,900 Somali 637,862 1,839, ,195 1,300,000 Tigray 378,600 2,851,211 1,582,468 1,268,742 MoWR/ Regional EPRUs* -- 1,875, ,875,000 Total 1,968,713 14,111,896 2,216,242 11,895,653 *Indicates the requirements for the federal and regional level Emergency Preparedness and Response Units Source: MoWR Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring The implementation approach that will be followed for the unpredictable emergency water, sanitation and hygiene promotion interventions will generally be guided by the types of hazards and threats that occur in a particular location, which in turn will dictate the forms of life-saving emergency interventions that are required to save lives and reduce suffering of the acutely affected population Coordination At the federal level, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Health/Environmental Health Department will be the core institutions responsible for management of the planned WES response programme in The existing, but currently less active, WES Task Force will be reactivated and strengthened to play a key coordination role. Existing regional WES task forces will be strengthened and new ones will be established. Regular exchange of information will be carried out among the various WES task forces. Efforts will continue to set up institutional structures by creating permanent emergency 19

21 preparedness and response WES management units both at federal and regional levels Agriculture Assistance Objectives and Requirements The overall objectives of the 2006 emergency agricultural intervention are to provide minimum crop and livestock supports to address the emergency needs of the most vulnerable farmers and pastoralists and to restore the agricultural productivity of disaster-affected communities. Two major threats are anticipated in 2006: 1) poor livestock conditions and disease due to shortage of water and animal feed; and 2) critical shortage of crop and forage seed. As indicated in Table 7 below, about 694,000 farmers will be exposed to critical seed shortage in 2006; more than 22,800 households in 43 woredas and Dire Dawa Administration are on the verge of halting irrigation practices due to system failures; and 54 million livestock mainly in the lowland and pastoral and agro-pastoral areas require emergency and recovery interventions. In order to accomplish the crop and livestock sub-sector emergency activities and cover the costs of interventions, a total of US$18.6 million is required in The resource requirement to supply emergency seeds has decreased by 18 percent due to the overall good harvest prospect in the country reflecting an improvement in needs assessment methodology. By contrast, budget requirements for the livestock health intervention have increased by about 14 percent from 2005, mainly due to the current drought in the agro-pastoral and pastoral areas of Oromiya and Somali regions. Table 7: Emergency Agriculture Sector Requirements for 2006 Programmes No. of Beneficiaries Requirements Households Animals Provision of emergency seeds 694,029 4,865,929 Support to irrigation 22, ,500 Livestock emergency health interventions 54,246,207 4,508,182 De-stocking and re-stocking 69,300 2,815,456 Supply of forage seeds and animal feed 11,658 52,000 2,974,817 Prevention of avian influenza 1,480,000 Sectoral capacity building and coordination 1,500,000 Total 11,658 54,367,507 18,628,884 Source: MoARD There is a need to enhance the linkage and coordination among different stakeholders and improve the quality and efficiency of needs assessment, data management, resource allocation and targeting. Hence, capacity building and coordination in both the crop and livestock sub-sectors will be required in 2006 to properly implement and coordinate emergency interventions. About US$1.5 million is needed to cover capacity building and coordination activities in the sector. Livestock sub-sector: Poor performance and successive failures of the past rainy seasons have caused shortage of water and pasture in some lowland areas of Afar, Oromiya, SNNP and Somali regions. The overall shortage of water and pasture has resulted in migration of livestock and loss of milk and body conditions particularly in pastoral and agro-pastoral areas causing deterioration of food security in the already-fragile areas. Further, the impact of the failure of short rains on Somali and Oromiya agropastoralists and pastoralists has been further exacerbated by the influx of livestock from the drought stricken areas of northeastern Kenya and southwestern Somalia. Improving animal health care will be most important when animals face serious drought conditions. Simple health interventions at the start of prolonged drought can significantly increase animals chances of survival and has the significance of preventing the spread of disease, and therefore reducing further livestock deaths. 20

22 In some pastoral districts severely hit by the drought, conditions are deteriorating fast and livestock are unable to find fodder needed to sustain them. Supplemental grain and fodder availability on the local market has already decreased resulting in weakening and death of livestock from malnutrition and diseases. Because of this, the price of livestock has started to drop and is expected to worsen further as the dry season progresses. In such situations, emergency de-stocking or intentional removal of animals from these severely affected areas before they die is essential. If pastoral households lose valuable breeding stock during drought, it can take many years for their herd to recover. There is a danger that poorer households will never be able to rebuild their herds and as a consequence fall out of pastoral production. It is also important for pastoral households to maintain some stock to be able to take advantage of the, often good, grazing. The supplementary feeding will target core breeding animals and the plan is to keep reproductive stock alive and preserve a key household capital asset for post-drought recovery. The emergency livestock intervention targets disaster affected and food insecure woredas in Dire Dawa administration and all regions but Harari and focuses on: supply of vaccines, drugs and equipment; support for livestock vaccination and treatment campaigns through technical and financial assistance; supplementary animal feeding; de-stocking and restocking. As indicated in Annex 3, a total of US$4.5 million is required to provide emergency animal health supports to more than 54 million livestock. The total fund requirement to cover the 2006 emergency and recovery livestock interventions is about US$10.3 which is urgently required particularly for Somali and Oromiya pastoral and agro-pastoral areas. Annexes 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 present requirements for emergency livestock health, emergency seed, emergency de-stocking and re-stocking interventions, animal feed, and forage seeds, planned for 2006 by region. Crop sub-sector: In 2006, critical seed shortage is a major concern in terms of both quantity and quality. In general, the major seed related problems are lack of availability or total shortage of seed, access problems to locally available seeds and poor quality of harvested seeds. Urgent seed supply is needed. particularly for the current dry and upcoming belg planting seasons. The seed intervention targets 204 disaster-affected and seed-insecure woredas in eight regions and Dire Dawa administration and includes multiplication of different varieties of drought-tolerant and high yielding crops on farmers plots for distribution to needy poor households. Annex 4 indicates that a total of 694,139 farming households require emergency seed assistance in Vegetable production is inextricably linked to water availability and can only be achieved through a concerted action of improving water management practices for maximizing water productivity. A main objective of this intervention is therefore to improve water management practices for reliable vegetable production through undertaking minor maintenance of small-scale, community-based irrigation systems. It is planned to undertake maintenance of canals and related structures of selected irrigation schemes and to improve the water management skill of affected farmers in 43 woredas and Dire Dawa Administration (only about 20 percent of these are currently practicing irrigation). The total fund requirement to cover the 2006 seed-based emergency and recovery interventions is about US$5.3 million as detailed in Annex 4. On the whole, the seed response targets destitute households without alternative income sources including the marginalised members of the community like women, the elderly, and most importantly households affected by HIV/AIDS. Avian influenza: With the spread of avian influenza to Europe, the risk of an outbreak in Ethiopia has become a very real possibility, particularly through migratory birds and imported poultry products. A contingency plan has been developed for the prevention of the disease from introduction, early detection of the disease in cases of occurrence and early reaction to control and eradicate the disease in cases of introduction. The objective of this intervention is to address the urgent short and medium-term actions that are to be undertaken by the Government to strengthen its capacity in order to rapidly detect the introduction of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in birds into the country and minimize its spread in the case of its occurrence. A total of US$1.5 million is required for public awareness creation, animal disease surveillance and monitoring, capacitating laboratory to support diagnosis of avian influenza in 21

23 birds, and training of field and laboratory personnel. The amount does not include compensation fee for poultry farmers for the destruction of infected and in-contact flocks, in case of introduction of the disease. The MoARD will take the lead in the implementation of the strategic preparedness and response plan on avian influenza. The Federal Agricultural Task Force will play a crucial role in assisting the Ministry and the regions in addressing the avian influenza emergencies at different levels Implementation Approach and Sector Monitoring Generally, the agriculture humanitarian interventions will be implemented through a partnership between relevant government bodies, local and international NGOs, and UN agencies. The overall implementation process will be monitored and coordinated by the federal and regional emergency agriculture task forces and the respective regional BoARDs. Linkage, coordination and joint mobilization among the various partners including UN-FAO, NGOs and government bodies would be further enhanced through the existing Federal Emergency Agriculture Task Force, chaired by MoARD, in order to enable smooth access to information, sharing of experiences and to avoid duplication of efforts. Implementing agencies will carry out monitoring and evaluate emergency responses. The purchase, distribution, quality control, targeting and timeliness of activities will be regularly monitored. Monitoring will aim beyond routine assessment of logistic performance. The federal and regional emergency agriculture task forces will regularly monitor the work progress of agencies, identify gaps, reallocate or look for additional resources to fill the gaps. The immediate and overall impacts of interventions will be evaluated with due focus on such issues as timing, effects on agricultural production, and impacts on the livelihoods of beneficiaries Coordination The Federal Emergency Agriculture Task Force, which is chaired by MoARD, is mandated for coordination of the agriculture emergency/recovery interventions. Both the Seed Security Consultative Group (SSCG) and the Livestock Working Group (LWG) will provide technical support to the task force. In the absence of common coordination forums, the responsibility for coordination of tasks at regional level lies on the bureaus of agriculture and rural development. Weak coordination, existence of diverse relief supply modalities and an inadequate information management system were some of the challenges encountered during the past emergency/recovery operation, especially at local levels. Hence, it is essential to set effective strategy for improved coordination and information management. In order to attain effective monitoring, coordination, and decision-making systems, the following sectoral coordination activities will be implemented: i) strengthening the Federal Emergency Agricultural Task Force and ensuring its functioning in a continuous and more effective manner; ii) establishing and/or strengthening regional Emergency Agriculture Task Forces, particularly in drought prone regions including pastoral areas; iii) coordinating and conducting additional need assessments and updating the 2006 sectoral relief and recovery requirements as the situation demands; iv) coordinating and preparing sectoral contingency plans for 2007; v) enhancing linkages between the emergency agriculture task forces (at federal and regional levels) and donors, UN agencies, international organisations, relevant government bodies and NGOs in order to ensure effective coordination and smooth implementation of emergency and recovery interventions; vi) improving the existing emergency related information management and communication system at federal and regional levels; and vii) conducting and documenting evaluations of the past emergency/recovery operations. 22

24 5. OVERALL COORDINATION In 2006, there are new challenges for the Government and humanitarian community and how they respond to those challenges will depend on how effective their coordination mechanisms are. Responding to the threat of avian influenza or building on strategies for assisting pastoral communities will require stronger partnerships and common efforts. Effective coordination mechanisms are in place at the federal level under the leadership of the DPPA and line ministry led sector task forces, whilst the UN Country Team, donors and NGOs participate in the federal coordination fora and meetings. It is expected that the creation of emergency offices in the line ministries and bureaus will greatly enhance emergency non-food multi-sectoral response. In 2006, food relief agencies will coordinate food distribution activities based on the national requirements disaggregated at the woreda-level. The coordinating body is the DPPA and the Food Aid Task Force, which reviews the relief food situation regularly. The Health and Nutrition Task Force led by the Ministry of Health, the Agriculture Task Force led by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Water and Sanitation Task Force led by the Ministry of Water Resources, each operate in a manner similar to the Food Aid Task Force, coordinating among Government, UN and NGO partner s activities to address emergency needs in their respective sectors. The Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit (ENCU) of the DPPA is responsible for monitoring the nutritional situation in the country and advising concerned partners in undertaking coordinated, timely and comprehensive emergency response. In 2006, the DPPA and the FSCB will work towards enhanced collaboration and enhanced coordination of emergency and PSNP activities. Lessons learned from 2005 have highlighted the importance of closer coordination between the two agencies in this area. Both Government agencies have their own Information Centres which are available to provide valuable information to all concerned parties. The DPPA is also in the process of strengthening the technical capacity for the coordination of non-food emergency responses. Efforts to further strengthen coordination capacities at the regional and sub-regional levels with the DPPA and Sector Bureaus are needed and will require the commitment of the UN agencies, NGOs and the DPPA to provide the necessary support in setting up the regional structures and provide adequate training. Regular coordination meetings with all partners at the regional level must be strengthened and maintained in Budgets for sector coordination activities are included under the specific sector activities. The UN Strategic Disaster Management Team, comprising of WFP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, UNDP, World Bank, and OCHA, serves as the key instrument for the coordination of the UN humanitarian response. These agencies will work together to support federal, regional and sub-regional coordination structures in The overall budget for UN strategic coordination in 2006 is estimated at US$1.9 million. UN requirements are covered in this Appeal and there are no plans to hold a subsequent UN Appeal. 14 The Emergency Unit for this sector is planned to be covered under the MoH budget. 23

25 6. STRENGTHENING HUMANITARIAN CAPACITY 2006 Humanitarian Appeal Lessons learned in recent years highlight the importance of a multi-sectoral response during emergencies. In 2006, there will be greater emphasis placed on strengthening the capacity of the DPPA and the sectoral task forces to intervene with multi-sectoral responses to humanitarian crises. Ethiopia has two emergency mechanisms in place that are available for the Government and humanitarian community to use in times of emergency. The Emergency Food Security Reserve (EFSR) is one of the preparedness modalities of disaster management in this country which plays a crucial role in providing grains for emergency interventions until pledged relief resources arrive into the country and in providing grain for implementation of PSNP. It also has the mandate to hold non-food relief items as part of the Non-food Contingency Stock (NFCS) that are available for immediate use in times of fast on-set disasters until additional items can be supplied through another mechanism. In addition to the budget allocated by the Government for the management of the reserve and construction of warehouses, donors have been assisting in building up of the physical capacity of reserve and providing materials required for pest prevention and control and vehicles for supervision of stocks. The Government has also been allocating an annual budget but this is not adequate to cover all the necessary expenses that are crucial for the stock management. Currently some of the vehicles and equipment which have been provided by donors have become out of use due to long years of service; consumables for pest prevention and control need to be restocked to ensure proper maintenance and management the current size of the reserve; the stock tracking system needs to be modernized and the necessary data base be established. Therefore, US$ 456,080 is required for the maintenance of stock quality and pest control activities and US$ 386,150 for the improvement of stock tracking and monitoring system. The National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Fund (NDPPF) is an important preparedness mechanism designed to ensure a smooth relief operation and complement the EFSRA by providing cash resources to fund the non-food side of the emergences and the complementary inputs needed to support food aid. Both the NDPPF and NFCS were not utilised in 2005 and further efforts will be needed to make sure they are used to their full potential in Sector Capacity Strengthening The overall capacity of disaster management to respond to a food crisis in Ethiopia is strong and has been built up through the extensive response carried out in this sector for the last three decades. However, in line with lessons learnt from the 2005 emergency food response, as well as recommendations drawn from the Joint Evaluation of the 2002/2003 Crisis in Ethiopia, strengthening of the capacity in a number of areas is anticipated. Response to sudden onset crises during 2005 has highlighted a need for further strengthening of disaster management processes applied for such crises. It has been noted that due to logistic constraints, access to affected populations, especially at the critical onset of crisis, is sometimes hampered. Moreover, there is a need to revisit the appropriateness of coordination and information sharing mechanisms in such situations, look at the efficiency of natural disaster forecasting and emergency preparedness and the role of partners in emergency response Emergency Food Strengthening of food aid management and monitoring, both at federal at local level needs further attention. It is crucial for an efficient food response in 2006 that the capacity of regions to report on food utilisation is built up. Initiatives for enhancement of the capacity for monitoring of food distributions, targeting of beneficiaries and appropriateness of response should also be strengthened. The capacity to implement distribution practices that ensure protection of the most vulnerable from the effects of HIV/AIDS while collecting their food needs to be built up at all levels. 24

26 Coordination between food and cash interventions for chronically food secure populations and emergency food interventions should be enhanced and linkages between various food security programmes improved. In 2006 Emergency Food will require a total of US$150,000 to implement capacity strengthening within the sector Emergency Non-food Starting in late 2004, a broad based process of consultation, technical assessment and negotiation was used to estimate non-food requirements for inclusion in the annual appeal for This process was an improvement over previous years because it was the first time the woreda and zonal authorities had been involved at all in the process of assessing non-food needs. However, there were concerns that the nonfood assessments and need estimations lacked adequate transparency and objectivity. This problem nearly resulted in the 2005 non-food appeal not being released by government. In order to address this serious issue, a range of efforts were undertaken throughout 2005 with the leadership of sectoral task forces to strengthen mechanisms for accurately identifying, properly resourcing and effectively addressing critical non-food emergency needs. While progress has been made (and is reflected in this document), serious challenges remain to ensure appropriateness and coherence across the full range of financial mechanisms and implementing approaches that exist (or can be created) within government, humanitarian and development institutions. The year 2006 will see an even greater focus by these institutions on developing improved approaches to a) ensuring that humanitarian, non-food emergency resources focus on the humanitarian imperative of saving lives and reducing suffering b) managing recurrent financial outlays for non-food emergencies through multi-year and other innovative funding approaches, c) ensuring that problems best addressed with development resources are not included in emergency appeals but are addressed through other channels, and d) exploiting potential linkages between emergency and development programming Health and Nutrition In 2005, the coordination and management of health and nutrition emergencies have been addressed by the EHNTF chaired by the FMoH. In order to further improve emergency preparedness and response the Ministry plans to create an Emergency Unit in 2006, both at federal and regional levels. 14 Nutrition emergencies are not only health related and require a multi-sectoral preparedness and response. The focal point in charge is the Emergency Nutrition Coordination Unit (ENCU) under the DPPA. The Unit is tasked with monitoring the nutrition situation in the country and advising on coordinated, timely and comprehensive emergency nutrition response. Links between the EHNTF and the ENCU need to be developed to achieve a comprehensive preparedness and response for health and nutrition emergencies. It is therefore proposed that the capacity within DPPA and FMoH be strengthened to meet the rising expectations. In 2006 Health and Nutrition will require a total of US$1.2 million to strengthen the capacity of the EHNTF and ENCU Water and Environmental Sanitation The lack of permanent, empowered and staffed institutional structures for disaster management within the MoWR has direct implications for emergency WES preparedness, response and coordination. In addition, capacity at the regional and woreda level is a major constraint to respond quickly to acute emergencies. Therefore, the capacity building activities in 2006 will focus on the establishment of permanent emergency water and sanitation units in the MoWR and in the regional bureaus. Such offices will continue to be active during non-(major) crisis years, given the full-time tasks of hazard mitigation, crisis prevention, disaster response and post-crisis recovery. Building the capacities of the regional water and health bureaus, regional DPPBs and woredas in order to enable them to respond in a timely manner to emergencies in the water sector will also be a focus area in Another response strengthening strategy will be through pre-positioning of emergency water supply and sanitation items in order to respond for any shock within days. In 2006 WES requires US$1.8 to strengthen the capacity of federal and regional level Emergency Preparedness and Response Units. Currently, the Ministry has taken a strong initiative to establish the Emergency Unit at federal level. 25

27 Agriculture The prime constraint encountered in the implementation of emergency/recovery interventions during the recent years was inadequate technical and logistic capacity at federal, regional and woreda levels to effectively coordinate emergency and recovery interventions. This problem has been further exacerbated by a lack of a permanent institutional structure within the MoARD and Regional Agriculture and Rural Development Bureaus responsible for coordination of emergency and recovery interventions. Hence, establishment of permanent Emergency and Recovery Agriculture Unit within MoARD and RBoARD will be the primary focus of the 2006 capacity building programme. Apart from this, the intended capacity building interventions will continue to address issues like monitoring, surveillance, early warning, relief distribution, and cost-recovery. In 2006 Agriculture requires US$1.5 million to strengthen the capacity of federal and regional level Emergency Preparedness and Coordination. 6.2 DPPA Capacity Strengthening The DPPA has recently conducted an assessment to verify the strength and weakness of the central warehouse management system. The study findings have confirmed that one of the major bottle necks has been the weighing facility; the existing weighbridges have a number of limitations, including low capacity, very high downtime, weight deviation and low efficiency due to its single axle weighing system. In order to improve the overall management system of the central warehouses; to ensure timely delivery of relief resources to disaster victims; improve the loading/unloading process; and to ensure the right quantity of relief commodities are delivered to the main stores and dispatched from same it is found to be necessary to install three appropriate weighbridge facilities in Nazareth, Dire Dawa and Kombolcha DPPA central warehouses. The estimated cost for the purchase and installation of the weighing bridges is US$342,250, as indicated in Annex 11. Capacity Building Support to DPPA: On-going capacity-building support to the DPPA has been provided by several donors. Since 1997, USAID has provided support to DPPA initially through the Strengthening Emergency Response Abilities project and currently through the Emergency Preparedness Support Programme (EPSP). The current EPSP work plan focuses on strengthening three areas: management systems, human resources, physical capacity and knowledge management. The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission Information Centre (IC) was established formally in April 2004, through a jointly implemented project supported by UN OCHA, WFP and UNDP with principal funding provided by the Government of Canada with support also by Finland. The project has established the capacity to support the information technology requirements of the entire DPPA central office. Information Centre: A two-year extension of the project is proposed for the DPPA IC beginning in February In the immediate future, the IC is expected to build on the substantive progress made and systems established in the period The IC will continue to be client driven and seek to provide a user-friendly data repository of all available survey, baseline and other relevant data and documentation for use within DPPA, by government ministries and by all other humanitarian actors. To enable a smooth transition of the project to a sustainable funded initiative there is further need for technical assistance and support. The project will attempt in 2006 to undertake connectivity on a pilot scale with at least one Regional DPPB/FSCB Office. The project designed to support the IC will be managed by UNDP with technical support to the DPPA from UN OCHA. A full time information management advisor will be seconded to the IC, with funding for the advisor being considered by USAID. The project will make use of existing staff seconded to DPPA to consider how best the IC might support the broader humantarian and food security information management needs. A new project document has been prepared as well as an evaluation progress made by the IC and the support project. A 12-month funding requirements through UNDP for the project activity is estimated to be US$834,800 (this does not inlcude funding for pilot regional connectivity, which is being supported by USAID). 26

28 Annexes Annex 1: Hotspot Areas Requiring Urgent Assistance in Somali Region and Borena zone of Oromiya, December