OCHA Situation Report
Ethiopia
October 27-31, 2003


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Overall Humanitarian Situation:
The overall situation in the region is stable. However, there is an urgent
need for water and health interventions - especially concerning malaria,
meningitis and diarrheal diseases.

Health and HIV/AIDS:

WHO support to the Polio campaign is continuing. WHO will also participate
in and lead the multi-agency Health and nutrition assessment. This began
on Oct. 29 and is being carried out in selected drought-affected woredas
within the region. WHO will work closely with the RHB in the Malaria
prevention and control programs in the coming weeks.

UNICEF reports that malaria drugs have been delivered to most woredas
along with cash assistance for training, community mobilization,
operational costs etc. A UNICEF epidemiologist consultant is in the
process of finalizing his report on malaria in the region, at which point
more info on malaria trends and increases will be available.

UNICEF also emphasized the importance of planning for Task Forces on
HIV/AIDS, as a delay might lead to coordination difficulties. NGO's are
asked to hand in their recovery proposals to the Health and Nutrition Task
Force.

SNNPR HAPCO/UNICEF presented a report entitled "HIV/AIDS and Emergency" at
the Partnership Coordination meeting on its strategies/activities,
achievements and action plans as follows:

Strategies and major activities achieved:

   Training on "facilitator's role in community dialogue of HIV/AIDS" of
   42 facilitators in Sidama, Wolayta and Guraghe. Over 52 community
   dialogues on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support held in Sidama and
   Wolayta Zones where over 105,000 food beneficiaries participated. These
   were successfully accomplished with coordinated efforts of Woreda DPP
   offices, Woreda H/A office, GOAL, Concern and WVE;

   Training of 60 DPPC relief workers in Sidama and Wolayta on HIV/AIDS
   prevention, emergency and SGBV;

   Strengthening technically and materially of Anti-AIDS Clubs (AACs) in
   drought-affected woredas: training of 241 members of 18 AACs on
   prevention, care, control, peer education; purchase of media material
   and furniture for 30 AACs in 4 Zones;

   Dissemination of Information, Education and Communication (IEC)
   materials;

   Coordination with NGOs operating in HIV/AIDS.


Main action points for future directions:

   Establish Regional Emergency and HIV/AIDS Task Force;

   NGO's and government participants who are actively engaged in HIV/AIDS
   prevention, care and support will be invited for this purpose;

   Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Task Force will be drafted and action
   plans prepared;

   The Task Force will oversee and ensure all actors are mainstreaming
   HIV/AIDS and gender;

   Therefore, every actor needs to have a component on the report for the
   Coordination Mechanism and Gender Mainstreaming;

   SNNPR/HAPCO has already begun involving Zonal and Woreda HIV/AIDS
   offices in Crisis Management Committee;

   Zonal and Woreda HIV/AIDS secretariat will give technical and other
   support for all actors to mainstream and coordinate with;

   Make sure the mainstreaming of AIDS/Gender is an added value for
   ongoing emergency response - not an added burden!


UNICEF also noted that they will be adding basic hygiene to the project
and invited all relevant actors to report their interest in participating
in HIV/AIDS and basic hygiene activities.

GOAL will have one person working on HIV/AIDS with UNICEF in Sidama Zone
and is reviewing facilitation of malaria drugs dispatch to Community Based
Malaria Control Agents (CBMCAs). They will revitalize the system of CBMCAs
by sensitizing populations and retraining agents in preparation for the
malaria program. GOAL will also be undertaking community capacity
development on Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) usage and early treatment
seeking, as they and UNICEF will be distributing 29 000 ITNs to remote
Kebeles.


Rapid Assessment

An inter-agency team comprising UNICEF, WFP, RDPPO, IMC, ADRA and Save the
Children (US) has carried out a rapid assessment to further investigate
two of the kebeles classified as critical in Kuraz Woreda, South Omo. It
also assessed children's malnourishment levels.

Major problems identified include:

   a decline in rainfall over the last five years;

   subsequent decline in harvest;

   food insecurity;

   high incidence of malaria;

   limited access to health services;

   unavailability of clean drinking water;

   shortage of agricultural inputs;

   small number of general ration beneficiaries and the full basket of
   ration not being distributed.


The team recommended the following:

   the continuation of general ration until January 2004,

   inclusion of oil and CBS in the food distribution;

   medicines should be supplied for free;

   capacity building of information management at woreda level


Food Distribution and Storage

The WFP mid-Meher assessment findings revealed that the general food
security situation is improving, the Meher rains are generally good and
the Belg rains better than last year. The report however warns that
sufficient rains are not enough to end the crisis as it is of a chronic
nature.

There will be no change in the beneficiary size in SNNPR, except for
Shashogo Woreda, Hadiya Zone which will be extended to Dec. 2003, and Dita
and Chencha Woredas, Gamo Gofa Zone which will receive additional
assistance for 7,727 people in Oct. - Dec. 2003.

WFP is currently undertaking a Meher assessment, which will be ending Nov.
20, and are also finalizing the Food Aid Use and Impact Study (FAUIS)
results. WFP Logistics Unit is organizing two-week training on commodity
management in November for which DPPB will select Zonal and Woreda
officials. Following the findings of the survey by WFP and DPPB, locations
requiring additional stores were identified as follows: Wamura in Offa
woreda, Welayta zone, Choso in Kucha woreda, Gamo Gofa zone, Ganda in Arba
Minch Zuria woreda, Gamo Gofa zone and Modula in Omo Shaleko woreda, KT
zone.

Seven OFDA-funded permanent warehouses are being constructed in the
region. They will be large, multi-purpose stores with a capacity of
3,000/5,000 MT.

The status of 8 rub halls donated by WFP in 2000 are as follows: two
erected in Konso and Alaba Special Woredas; four under construction in
Gamo Gofa and Hadiya Zones and Dirashe Special Woreda. Their setting up
will be completed by November. The remaining two, in Konso SW and KT zone,
have yet to be erected


TFC's

WFP reports that there are 21 TFC's operational in the region down from a
high of 27; up to the end of Sept. the total figure for admission was
9,964 children out of whom 7,708 were cured or discharged 298. 13 NGO's
have been involved in TFC operations.

SC (US) has handed over Konso to Mekone Yesus. ADRA closed Balila TFC on
Oct. 16. They are conducting a nutritional survey with SC (US) 27/10 -
03/11. They reported getting around 20 admissions per week at their TFC's,
most of which have malaria.

ACF also reported an intensification of TFC admissions in Shebedina and
Darrara. Reasons for this are not quite clear as their ongoing nutritional
survey has so far shown no critical malnourishment; it is however
tentatively pointing towards a lack of access to water.

GOAL handed over Hulla CTC/TFC to SC (US) on Oct. 28. They are expecting
findings from their nutritional assessment in Gedeo on Monday Nov. 3 - so
far it shows a 10% GAM. The nutritional survey in Dalle is ongoing.
Morocho needs supplementary feeding to be provided homes as they have had
an increase in readmissions. GOAL will be doing a rescreening of 8
Kebeles. Possible Shebedino extension has been investigated. TFC admission
numbers in Awassa are going down. GOAL is awaiting ENCU report on criteria
for closing and opening TFC's.

Oxfam reports TFC admissions are increasing while discharges are
decreasing most likely because of malaria.

IMC will be doing a child nutrition survey Nov. 15 - 21; in preparation
for this they are training data collectors. They report an increase in
admissions in their Boloso Sore TFC's, but a decrease in their Awassa
TFC's.

There was much concern in the Partnership Coordination about malaria
prevalence being behind the either stable or increased admissions to those
TFC's that remain open.


Resettlement

The first phase of resettlements was meant to begin in October but has
been postponed because of infrastructural problems and might now start in
November. It consists of moving heads of households to selected sites,
while the rest of the family stays behind for up to two years. The family
then decides whether to actually move or not. Recent numbers of
resettlements in Southwest SNNPR according to a UNICEF field monitor are
as follows:

   Welayta, Hadia, Alaba and Kembata Zones: 1,660 family heads being moved
   to Churchura settlement, Esera Woreda, Dawro Zone.

   Sidama and Gideo Zones: 2,800 family heads being moved to Gecha and
   Melgawa, Decha Woreda and 2,000 families to be moved to Angela, Decha
   Woreda in Dec.

   Sidama and Gideo Zones: 2,610 family heads being moved to Kuja, Alenga,
   Semerta in Guraferda Woreda.

   Unspecified areas: 4,720 family heads being moved to Dalbo genet and
   Konta-Kosha.



DISCLAIMER

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this
document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the UN
concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its
authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or
boundaries.

UN OCHA Ethiopia
PO Box 60252
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel.: (251) (1) 51-37-25
Fax: (251) (1) 51-12-92
E-mail: un-eue@un.org

Web Sites:
www.uneue.org
www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/eue_web/eue_mnu.htm (archive)


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