Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue #8 | 29 April – 12 May 2019

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Government started IDP returns in Gedeo and West Guji zones.

• The Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team (EHCT) continues to monitor the return process through the Protection Cluster, and to advocate for adherence of international humanitarian principles at all levels of Government.

FIGURES

Affected population 8.3 million

MAM 4 million

SAM 609,000

# of people displaced due to conflict 2.4 million

# of people displaced due to climatic shocks 0.6 m

FUNDING

US$1.314 billion Requirement for the 2019 Ethiopia Humanitarian Response Plan

The Government started IDP returns in Gedeo and West Guji zones

On 25 April 2019, the Government officially announced its plan to immediately return over 550,000 IDPs in Gedeo and West Guji zones to their respective areas of origin (526,000 IDPs from Gedeo to West Guji and within Gedeo and 30,000 from West Guji to Gedeo). Reports from the Gedeo Zonal Disaster Risk Management Office (DRMO) indicate that the return started on 03 May with the deployment of 40 trucks/buses to move an estimated 15,000 IDPs from Gedeb to 10 kebeles in Kercha woreda of West Guji zone.

Similarly, the West Guji DRMO reported that over 11,000 IDPs have returned from Kercha collective sites to their respective homes in rural kebeles as of 03 May 2019. On 06 May, seven buses were deployed to move the first batch of IDPs from Gedeb Town to 01,02, and 03 kebeles of Kercha, Birbisa, Egu, Gurrachu and Bilida areas. According to a report by the Emergency Operation Center in Dilla Town, a total of 19,014 IDPs returned to West Guji and 6,342 IDPs returned to Gedeo zone as of 10 May 2019.

The Government has reiterated that the return is voluntary and security conditions in return areas have been secured. The Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team (EHCT) continues to monitor the return process through the Protection Cluster, and to advocate for adherence of international humanitarian principles at all levels of Government.

Similar return processes are ongoing in other IDP-hosting areas, including in East and West Wollega, Amhara and Somali regions. On 10 May, the Government announced that some 870,000 IDPs returned to their areas of origin nationwide.

It is to be recalled that, on 8 April 2019, the Government of Ethiopia, through the Ministry of Peace (MoP) and the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) presented a Strategic Plan to Address Internal Displacement in Ethiopia and a costed Recovery/Rehabilitation Plan to donors and international agencies