Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP): Flash Appeal 2005 for Djibouti Drought

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Djibouti is a disaster-prone, low-income, food deficit country (LIFDC) with a population of around 500,000 people. It is currently facing a severe food crisis in three out of six rural zones as a consequence of three consecutive failed rainy seasons and worsening drought conditions. Delayed rains and erratic rainfall patterns have been insufficient to allow the replenishment of water catchments or the regeneration of pastures. Pastoralists from Djibouti and neighbouring areas in Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea have been forced to continue seasonal grazing in coastal Djibouti areas, beyond the restorative capacities of the land. As a consequence, pasture and browse have been overgrazed and exhausted in most rural grazing areas. All water catchments in the northwest and southeast pastoral zones are practically dry.

Immediate needs include food aid for 28,650 people and the provision of water for 18,000 of them. Water points and boreholes need rehabilitation and maintenance and their running costs must be covered. Due to the protracted nature of the drought, malnutrition is a major concern and supplementary feeding for 5,730 children is needed. Mobile health services for 5,000 persons are required, given the nomadic and vulnerable nature of the most affected populations. Animal feed, water, and emergency veterinary care for 50,000 heads of livestock are urgent requirements. Disaster management structures at national and local levels need reinforcement and support in order to provide effective coordination of the response.

In the short- and medium-term, a second and more comprehensive, joint multi-sectoral assessment needs to be carried out, involving United Nations (UN) and international non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners as well as technical ministries of the government. An accurate survey to ascertain the numbers of livestock lost should also form a part of the assessment. More sustainable rehabilitation of water points is required.

In the longer term, the government needs support to strengthen its disaster management capacities. Livestock restocking for those who have lost their herds is required as is the development of water points along pastoral routes. The establishment of an emergency food stock is part of the long-term preparedness plan, which should also encompass the strengthening of the information system related to animal marketing in order to better regulate the flux of living animals on traditional trade routes.

The UN Country Team (UNCT) is appealing for US$ 7,494,198 in order to provide a consolidated approach to respond to this emergency over the next six months.

2. CONTEXT AND HUMANITARIAN CONSEQUENCES

2.1 CONTEXT

Situated in the Horn of Africa, the Republic of Djibouti is a disaster-prone, LIFDC with a population of around 500,000 people. According to the 2004 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report, Djibouti is ranked 154 out of 177 countries. 74% of the population lives in relative poverty on less than US$ 3 per day. Infant and juvenile mortality rates are very high at 103 and 124 per 1,000 live births respectively. The maternal mortality rate is 546 per 100,000 live births.

The country is very arid and only 3% of the land is suitable for farming. Pastoralism is the most efficient land-use option. Traditionally, most Djiboutians were nomadic pastoralists, but due to years of adverse climatic conditions as well as national border limitations, their mobility and access to resources have been restricted. Most of the nomadic populations are no longer pastoralists and at present, about 85% of them live in urban areas.

Unemployment rates are high. Employment and the economy are heavily dependant on the revenue obtained by Djibouti as a transit port for the region. Remaining nomads find that the traditional pastoralist existence is a livelihood option that is increasingly compromised by recurring drought and rain failure. Djibouti permanently fills its consumption gaps with large-scale imports and the remaining with food aid assistance.

2.2 HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

The lack of rainfall and worsening drought conditions have caused livestock deaths and a significant decline in milk production. These in turn have severely compromised the food security and livelihoods of about 5,000 families or 28,650 people. A recent joint assessment, conducted with representatives from the Government of Djibouti, estimates that most of these people have lost a majority of their livestock. The remaining animals are in poor condition mainly due to opportunistic parasites and diseases, exacerbated by the lack of food and water. Pastoralists in Djibouti rely on their livestock for consumption and trade. As a result, their income is dependant almost entirely on the health and productivity of their livestock. When these animals die or are in poor condition, Djibouti pastoralists are left with nothing to eat and very little to trade.

Pastoralists from neighbouring, drought-affected areas in Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea have overburdened Djibouti's coastal pastures and water sources. The lack of rainfall in these countries, especially in the border areas close to Djibouti, have caused an influx of pastoralists to the Djibouti coastal grazing areas, leading to the overgrazing of pasture and browse.

Pastoralist terms of trade have declined to disastrous levels, especially when simultaneous poor rainfall in neighbouring countries has caused an overall increase in produce prices. At the same time as livestock conditions are deteriorating, food prices have increased and these simultaneous shocks have surpassed the coping capacities of thousands of poor pastoralists. After losing their livestock, many households are moving from rural areas to urban centres in search of assistance.

Djibouti is currently facing a severe food crisis in three out of six rural zones as a consequence of three consecutive failed rainy seasons and worsening drought conditions. These three areas, the Southeast Pastoral Zone, Roadside Sub-Zone and Northwest Pastoral Zone, have also received famine warnings. In the Southeast Pastoral Zone and the Roadside Sub-Zone, livestock are currently moving to Diraa/Sougoum grazing areas, where water and pasture conditions are lower than seasonal norms. Livestock conditions are deteriorating, and some families have already lost their entire herds. Other income generating activities, such as the collection and sale of firewood and production of charcoal have intensified, resulting in unfortunate environmental consequences. In the Roadside Sub-Zone, livestock are observed to be very weak and the major water catchment areas are completely dry. Pasture is fully depleted and limited browse is providing the sole source of food for animals. Milk sales, a main source of income for this population, are limited.

In the Northwest Pastoral Zone, rain in March and April was below the threshold required for pasture regeneration. Pasture and browse are critically low in this zone and recent rainfall in Eritrea may trigger a movement towards the Eritrean border. The main source of food and income for households in this zone is dependant on livestock products and there is a continued food deficit due to poor livestock conditions. In the Market Gardening Zone - mainly in the northwest and near the city of Djibouti - poor successive rainy seasons are reducing the underground water table in this zone. This, in turn, has limited the production potential, as all agriculture in Djibouti needs to be regularly irrigated. Produce prices are consequently expected to remain high, especially as produce prices from Ethiopia have also increased.

2.3 HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

A joint assessment carried out by the government body in charge of disasters - the National Office for Assistance to Refugees and Disaster Victims (ONARS), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Famine Early Warning System (FEWSNET), indicated that 5,000 families, or 28,650 persons, are in need of emergency assistance in terms of food and water for the next three to six months. The three affected pastoral sub-zones need an emergency provision of water for both humans and livestock. In such extreme conditions of food insecurity and protracted drought, there is a need for supplementary feeding for malnourished persons as well as increased access to health care for the most vulnerable. Veterinary and animal health initiatives are urgently required as are non-food items.

The Government of Djibouti has instituted policy measures designed to relieve the high food prices and are working with the UN to increase access to food and water for those made most vulnerable by the drought. Nevertheless, the concurrent shocks have exceeded the capacities of pastoralists and the Government has made a request for international assistance to respond to the drought emergency.

The UNCT plans a second, more comprehensive, inter-agency multi-sectoral assessment mission in late April. In the meantime, both the government and WFP have started to distribute food aid, equivalent to one month's full ration. This will extend the previous general food distribution until the end of May. As of 22 April 2005, WFP has provided 570 MTs of mixed commodities, while the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has provided US$ 20,000 for the purchase of fuel for generators, which operate boreholes in the worst affected areas. UNDP has contributed US$ 50,000 for coordination activities, which will include local capacity building. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Support Office for Central and East Africa has fielded one Humanitarian Affairs Officer to give technical assistance to the UN response.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Executive Summary

• Table I. Summary of Requirements - By Appealing Organisation and By Sector

2. Context and Humanitarian Consequences

• 2.1 Context
• 2.2 Humanitarian Situation
• 2.3 Humanitarian Response

3. Response Plans

• 3.1 Coordination
• 3.2 Water and Sanitation
• 3.3 Food and Nutrition
• 3.4 Health
• 3.5 Agriculture and Livestock

4. Roles and Responsibilities

Annex I. Acronyms and Abbreviations

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