Ethiopia - Situation Report, 31 Oct 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

• Over 5 million people are reportedly affected by drought-like conditions in Amhara and Tigray.

• The Ethiopian government allocated food for distribution for nearly 3.6 million people in September/October.

• 52 per cent of nearly 264,500 school-aged children in Afar are out of school at the start of this academic year.

• Hundreds of thousands affected by malaria in Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, Afar, and Southwest regions, scaled up response critical.

• Over 40,000 people in Gambela and southern Ethiopia regions displaced from heavy rains and floods in September, loss of livestock and farms.

Disclaimer

This is OCHA Ethiopia bi-weekly digital Situation Report covering the humanitarian situation, needs, response and gaps country-wide. The weekly Northern Ethiopia Situation Report has been discontinued and will be included in this report. This report is prepared with the support and collaboration of cluster coordinators and humanitarian partners. In some cases, access and communication constraints mean that updates for the period are delayed and cannot be reflected. Boundaries, names, and designations of districts/zones indicated in the report do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Please contact ocha-eth-communication@un.org for any comment or question you may have on this publication.

BACKGROUND

Situation Overview

The humanitarian needs in Ethiopia remain high and continue to be triggered by the combined effects of climate events, conflicts and intercommunal violence, and disease outbreaks. Despite improved agricultural outputs due to improved access and adequate rainfall across Ethiopia during Belg and Kiremt rainy seasons this year, food security remains a great concern throughout the country amid the ongoing pause in food response by main partners, high malnutrition rates and recent reports of drought-like conditions in the northern regions. Accordingly, more than 10 per cent of Ethiopia's total population continue to be targeted for food assistance until the end of the year, and another more than 4 million people will continue to be targeted for non-food assistance.

Partners in five regions of Ethiopia are currently rolling out food distribution to refugees after an exceptional authorization for refugee populations (close to 946,700), 11 per cent of whom have received assistance as of 19 October. The Ethiopian government also continues to fill food gaps with Round One implemented in July/August and Round Two in September/October food and cash distribution for IDPs and other people in need. Accordingly, the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (DRMC) dispatched about 25,000 metric tons (MT) of food for close to 3.8 million internally displaced persons for the first round of distribution in July and August across the country. In the second round (September/October), EDRMC allocated 61,310 MT of food for nearly 3.6 million people. Access challenges due to insecurity continue to hamper food deliveries in some locations.

Meanwhile, food partners have provided US$ 27.8 million in cash support to an estimated 3.6 million in Amhara, Dire Dawa, Harari, Oromia, Somali and southern regions. Partners have also been working with the communities and authorities to roll out data-driven targeting exercises, improve beneficiary data verification and management, strengthen commodity tracking, establish procedures for distribution directly to individual households (HHs), and enhance monitoring and community engagement.