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Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Food Insecurity Emergency Appeal No. MDRET005 Operation Update No. 6 - Appeal extension

Attachments

GLIDE n° DR-2008-000043-ETH

Period covered by this Operations Update: 12 June 2008 to 14 April 2009;

Appeal target (current): CHF 8,157,607 (USD 7,920,006 or EUR 5,035,560);

Appeal coverage: 15% multilaterally;

Appeal history:

- This Emergency Appeal was initially launched on a preliminary basis on 14 May 2008 for CHF 1,847,444 (USD 1,776,388 or EUR 1,143,928) for 4 months to assist 40,000 beneficiaries.

- A Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) allocation of CHF 300,000 was initially allotted from the Federation's DREF to support the National Society response to the situation.

- The revised appeal seeking CHF 8,157,607 was launched on 19 August 2008 to assist 76,075 beneficiaries for 6 months.

- Operations Update No.1 focussing on the startup of relief activities and first round of food distributions was issued on 7 July 2008.

- Operations Update No. 2 focussing on agriculture early recovery activities and second round of food distributions was issued on 1 September 2008.

- Operations Update No. 3 focussing on the third round of food distributions and expansion of activities to Damot Galle woreda was issued on 5 November 2008.

- Operations Update No. 4 which extended the timeframe of the appeal by three months, to 14 February 2009, and focussed on the fourth round of food distributions was issued on 5 December 2008.

- A regional emergency appeal for food security in the Horn of Africa (MDR64003 - Horn of Africa: Exceptional Food Security Crisis), including related activities for Ethiopia was launched on 11 December 2008.

- Operations Update No. 5 focussing on the fifth round of food distributions, and extending the appeal timeframe by a further three months to 14 May 2009 was issued on 27 January 2009.

- This update extends the timeframe of the appeal by a further two weeks to ensure that the planned activities can be implemented, with funds committed, by the end of the appeal period. The closing date for the appeal is now 31 May 2009. The understanding of the donors to the appeal in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Summary: The International Federation, on behalf of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS), launched a preliminary emergency appeal on 14 May 2008 to assist 40,000 beneficiaries in Damot Pulasa district, Wolaita zone, SNNP region for a period of 4 months. After requests from the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA), the local government and the ERCS branch, the ERCS began the relief operation with the collaboration of the International Federation, using items available on the local market. Following the findings of the emergency need assessments conducted by the ERCS, the initial appeal was revised to include the most vulnerable people of neighboring Damot Galle district as beneficiaries, an additional 36,075. The total number of beneficiaries in the revised appeal is 76,075 people, living in both Damot Pulasa and Damot Galle districts of SNNP region. All food distribution has now been completed in the two districts. A nutritional survey was carried out in January 2009 and showed a clear improvement in the nutritional status of the population of the districts, compared to surveys conducted in the period before the food intervention began. The improvement is associated with good meher (main harvest) production in addition to the food and seed intervention carried out by the ERCS.

In order to produce longer term benefits for the local community, the food distribution was accompanied by seed distribution for the farmers who have enough land to cultivate crops, and provision of livestock for families with poor or no access to agricultural land is beginning. Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) training has been carried out and water point rehabilitation has been costed and will begin in the coming weeks.

With the main rainy season providing adequate rainfall in the area, bean seeds and sweet potato cuttings distributed to replace livelihoods assets lost in earlier adverse weather have grown well. Whilst it is currently harvest season for sweet potato and so it is not yet possible to provide data on production of sweet potatoes, indications are positive. Post harvest monitoring of the beans indicates that production was above average, due to the high quality of seeds supplied.

In late October and early November 2008 there was heavier rain than normal, which, it was feared could have a negative impact on crop production. However, this rainfall abated and did not appear to have a major negative impact on the crops in the area of operation. Light rains in December 2008 and January 2009 were below expectations, but the impact on the population has not been particularly large. It appears that the minor belg rains have begun in the last two weeks, several weeks later than expected, and it remains to be seen how prolific these will be this year. It should be remembered that it was inadequate belg rainfall that was the final trigger of the disastrous food shortages of 2008. Even with improving indicators for their status, the beneficiary population remains particularly susceptible to even the smallest departures from typical weather patterns. The population is extremely vulnerable, emphasizing the need for early recovery activities to help the beneficiaries minimize the impact of future shocks.

EUR 2,700,000 (approximately CHF 4,239,000 ) was pledged bilaterally by ECHO through the Austrian Red Cross and Finnish Red Cross, with an additional EUR 200,000 (approximately. CHF 314,000) pledged bilaterally by the Austrian Development Agency towards the Emergency Appeal. Ethiopiaid contributed GBP 200,000 (approximately CHF 394,000) towards the Emergency Appeal. Other funding was pledged by American, British, Canadian, Danish, Irish, Japanese and Monaco Red Cross Societies as well as Danish and Swedish Governments.