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Ethiopia has a population of 77 million people, 93% of whom work in agriculture. About 40% of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day.
Poverty and hunger have blighted the country for the last 50 years, and droughts in 2007 and early parts of 2008 sparked a complex emergency.
Somali region in the south east is one of the areas most affected by droughts, floods and outbreaks of disease, such as acute diarrhoea, and ethnic conflict. As a result, the region is in a constant state of emergency.
The 2009 Gu (July to September) rains failed again in most parts of the Somali Region, causing further crop failure and loss of livestock.
According to a multi-agency needs assessment team led by the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau, 1.9 million people in Somali region are in need of food and clean water.
The regional government has allocated a rapid response emergency budget but this cannot meet people’s essential needs, which are increasing day-by-day.
What is HelpAge doing?
HelpAge is providing essential emergency aid to help older pastoralists, their families and communities cope with the drought.
We are providing emergency trucks to meet the immediate water and sanitation needs of drought-affected communities.
We are also providing essential items such as jerry cans, water containers, and sanitation and hygiene items, such as soap to 3,750 families.
200,000 livestock in the drought affected community will also benefit from improved access to water.
These activities will improve the health, livelihoods and livestock assets of 60,000 drought affected people in communities facing persistent drought in Aysha’a and Erar districts in the Shinille Zone of the Somali region.
The project will last for six-months and is funded by the German Foreign Ministry through HelpAge Deutschland.
HelpAge is also working in drought-affected Borena region, providing essential emergency aid to 15,000 people and 30,000 livestock affected by water shortages. This work is funded by the UN Humanitarian Response Fund.
