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Ethiopia + 4 more

UNICEF Ethiopia Humanitarian Situation Report #12 – Reporting Period 6 July - 4 August 2017

Attachments

Highlights

  • The severe nutrition crisis in Somali region continues to be of significant concern, with over 7,000 SAM cases reported monthly.
    This represents over 25% of SAM admissions for the country.
    UNICEF is working with the Somali regional government, UN and NGO partners to implement an integrated and scaled-up nutrition response with expanded screening, referral and treatment, reaching children and communities across the region.

  • From January to May 2017 (the last month for which data is available), a total of 141,636 children under the age of five were admitted and treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) across Ethiopia. May admissions, at 30,251, have increased from that of April (28,420), following the same trend as 2016.

  • During the reporting period, UNICEF Ethiopia received $5,430,000 from USAID/OFDA to support critical nutrition, health and WASH interventions. In addition, $400,000 was received from the Government of South Korea and $1,050,052 was received from the Government of Sweden to support priority humanitarian activities in the country.

Situation in Numbers

5.6 million People* require relief food assistance in 2017

303,000 Children* are expected to require treatment for SAM in 2017

9.2 million People* require access to safe drinking water and sanitation services

2 million School-aged children* require emergency school feeding and learning materials assistance

843,374 Refugees in Ethiopia (UNHCR, June 2017)

*HRD January 2017.

UNICEF Appeal 2017 US$110.5 million

Situation Overview & Humanitarian needs

Following the reclassification of priority hotspot woredas in need of emergency response by the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) in July, the revision of the Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) is due to be completed by mid-August. The total number of priority one, two and three woredas increased from 454 in December 2016 to 461 in July 2017. The most significant shift has been in the reclassification of priority one hotspot woredas in need of emergency response from 192 to 228. Of these, 181 priority one woredas are located in the Somali, SNNPR and Oromia, the three regions affected by the negative impacts of the Indian Ocean Dipole.

Water shortages continue in Afar, Somali, and parts of SNNPR. In Somali region, gaps remain in the provision of safe water through water trucking. In Amhara the current kiremt rains have reduced the water supply constraints, although quality of water remains an issue. There is currently a lack of water supply and sanitation facilities, particularly latrines, in most of the holy water sites where thousands of pilgrims stay for months.

Nationwide, cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) continue to decrease. Over the past month, cases were reported from Amhara, Somali and Oromia regions. While cases have continue to decrease in Somali and Oromia regions, Amhara region reported an increase in week 28, but a coordinated government-led response succeeded in bringing the number of cases down in week 29.

Based on the Belg/Gu assessment findings, the Government of Ethiopia has revised the acute malnutrition caseload estimate, with 376,000 children under five expected to suffer from SAM and a total of 3.6 million children and pregnant and lactating women in need of treatment against moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in 2017, an increase from the estimates made at the beginning of the year. From January to May 2017, an increase in admissions for SAM treatment were reported, especially in Oromia, SNNP and Somali regions. The May SAM admissions in Somali remained alarmingly high at 7,102, with a slight increase compared to April (6,795). Around 25 per cent of the total SAM admissions in the country were reported from Somali region, compared to an average of 5 per cent in non-emergency years.

As a result of continued fighting and food insecurity, population movements into Ethiopia from South Sudan continue with approximately 3,000 new arrivals reported in Pagak, Gambella in July and an unconfirmed number of new arrivals reported in SNNPR.