In Numbers
10,375 mt of food assistance distributed
USD 706,011 m cash-based transfers made
USD 222 m (February 2020 - July 2021) net funding requirements
1.6 million people assisted in December 2020
Operational Updates
In December, WFP assisted 1.6 million people, including drought and flood-affected people, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and malnourished children and women.
Refugees
WFP assisted 691,200 refugees through in-kind food and cash transfers in 24 refugee camps and eight sites. Despite insecurity in Tigray, WFP delivered food sufficient for one-month to 25,100 refugees in Adi Harush and Mai Aini refugee camps. The other two camps remained, Hitsats and Shimelba remained inaccessible. WFP prepositioned food items at forward bases in Gonder to dispatch food as soon as roads became accessible.
Nutrition
WFP assisted 402,000 beneficiaries (82 percent of monthly planned beneficiaries) through targeted supplementary feeding (TSF). Due to insecurity in Tigray Region, nutrition activities were put on hold in November and December. Furthermore, insecurity in East Wellega and West Wellega in Oromia Region is becoming a serious concern, resulting in movement restrictions.
Relief
WFP continued relief in-kind food distributions to drought and flood affected people and IDPs in Somali Region (WFP is responsible for all relief food in Somali Region). School feeding WFP and the regional bureaux of education are planning to provide hot meals to 187,000 school children in Afar and Oromia Regions when schools reopen.
Fresh Food Vouchers
WFP transferred round 17 of vouchers to 22,700 households (117,198 individuals) in Amhara Region. Fresh food vouchers support households with children under 2 years and pregnant and lactating women and girls (PLWGs) to improve their access to fresh food. This initiative also benefits local economies.
Climate Risk Management
Despite challenges posed by the invasion of desert locust, flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic, WFP managed to assist over 15,500 households in Somali Region through Satellite Index Insurance for Pastoralists in Ethiopia and over 64,900 households through the Rural Resilience Initiative “R4” initiative in Amhara and Tigray regions in 2020.
Cross-border assistance to South Sudan
Despite the ongoing challenges of security, floods, heavy rains and road inaccessibility, WFP airdropped 2,149 mt of food to 14 locations from Gambella and delivered more than 650 mt of food by river convoy.