Ethiopia: Drought Snapshot - 4 April 2023

KEY FIGURES FOR 2023

• 24 Million People live in drought affected areas

• 13 Million People targeted in drought affected areas

• 11 Million People targeted for food assistance out of 13M

• US$ 2.05 Billion Requirements for drought response

The humanitarian context in drought-affected areas is quickly changing, and the gravity of the situation today has already surpassed the ongoing responses, and the urgency to scale up the response is high. The recent bouts of climate shocks have hit hard already vulnerable communities that have not had the time to recover from previous shocks, including previous droughts, conflicts and desert locust. Livelihoods are being decimated with more than 6.8 million livestock deaths since 2021. The WASH situation is of particular concern, with inadequate water trucking and growing pressure on remaining water sources, while health risks related to complications from malnutrition and severe water shortages have multiplied, including a cholera outbreak. With limited resources, humanitarian partners continue to make difficult decisions of prioritizing the most critical areas requiring the most urgent response in an integrated manner. Accordingly, of 13 million people targeted in 2023, 3.2 million people located in the most affected areas of Bale, Borena, East Bale, Guji, West Guji (Oromia), Afder, Daawa, Liban (Somali), Konso and South Omo (SNNP) require urgent assistance in the first half of the year. Critical priority response activities have also been identified across sectors (see table below). These are captured in the Government and partners’ four-months Drought Response Operational Action Plan targeting the most affected areas and most critical sectors for priority intervention.