Djibouti drought response boosted with $3.2 million from CERF

More than $3.2 million was allocated to United Agencies in Djibouti in August to respond to drought in the East African state. An acute crisis was caused by the region-wide drought, with vulnerability further heightened in Djibouti due to a continuing influx of refugees from neighbouring Somalia. An Emergency Food Security Assessment carried out in Djibouti earlier in 2011 indicated that 61,000 people were in urgent need of food assistance.

The World Food Programme (WFP) was provided with nearly $1 million from the CERF to provide emergency food for 61,000 people in vulnerable rural areas of Djibouti, as well as 16,000 refugees at the Al Addeh refugee camp. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) received nearly $300,000 from the CERF to rehabilitate water supplies for 8,000 families and their livestock. More than $540,000 was allocated to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide life-saving treatment to malnourished children, pregnant women and recent mothers. A further $700,000 enabled UNICEF to provide safe water to 80,000 people by delivering supplies using water trucks, repairing wells, and installing water pumps within the most vulnerable communities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) was provided with the resources to expand primary health services within the worst-affected areas, with a focus on preventing disease outbreaks. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) meanwhile used the CERF to provide supplementary food items and water purification equipment to refugees at the Al Addeh refugee camp.