Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Ethiopia + 1 more

Ethiopia: Food Assistance Fact Sheet - July 25, 2018

Attachments

SITUATION

  • Prolonged and severe drought in 2016-2017, followed by heavy seasonal rainfall and flooding in early 2018, has left many families facing severe food insecurity. An estimated 7.9 million people in Ethiopia require emergency food assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

  • Despite overall high needs in the country, food security and nutrition conditions have improved in the worst-affected areas of southeastern Somali Region thanks to the above-average seasonal rainfall, sustained humanitarian assistance and a decline in disease outbreaks. Poor households in settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs) face Crisis (IPC 3)-level acute food insecurity and most resident households in this area will face Stressed (IPC 2) acute food insecurity outcomes, though some households will also face Crisis outcomes. In the absence of assistance, IDPs would likely experience Emergency (IPC 4) outcomes.

  • In addition to humanitarian needs driven by natural disaster, insecurity and conflict are leading to rapid and large-scale displacement along the borders of Somali, Oromia and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples regions. Ethiopia also hosts more than 916,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including 440,000 South Sudanese refugees.

*The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a standardized tool that aims to classify the severity and magnitude of food insecurity. The IPC scale, which is comparable across countries, ranges from Minimal (IPC 1) to Famine (IPC 5).

RESPONSE

  • In partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Food for the Hungry, Relief Society of Tigray and World Vision, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) targets food-insecure Ethiopians with long-term development interventions through the Government of Ethiopia-led Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) with the aim to reduce chronic food insecurity. With an annual contribution to the PSNP of approximately $125 million, FFP addresses the basic needs of approximately 1.56 million chronically food-insecure people through the regular seasonal transfer of food and cash resources, while supporting the creation of assets that generate economic benefit to the entire community.

  • FFP partners with the UN World Food Program (WFP) and CRS to provide emergency food assistance to those affected by climatic and other shocks, as well as refugees. In addition, FFP provides specialized nutrition commodities for the treatment of acute malnutrition to WFP, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Rescue Committee, which leads a rapid response mechanism jointly funded by USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. FFP also provides resources to WFP for local and regional procurement of cereals, pulses and specialized nutrition products. In Fiscal Year 2018, FFP’s partners are targeting more than 5.7 million people with emergency food and nutrition assistance in Ethiopia.