OCHA Situation Report
Ethiopia
1 May 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

EIGHT DIE, HUNDREDS AT RISK AS WATERY DIARRHEA SPREADS IN GAMBELLA Eight 
people died and hundreds of people are at risk from acute watery 
diarrhoea in Gambella, according to UNICEF field reports. As of 25 
April, 260 cases were admitted in Gambella Treatment Centre, Itang 
Centre and Abobo Health Centre.  New cases are being reported daily in 
different locations.  All centres are overwhelmed by this extraordinary 
load and the Regional Health Bureau (RHB) has pledged to strengthen 
human resources in Itang Centre.  There is a severe shortage of potable 
water in the Gambella hospital and UNICEF is at present fetching water 
from the Catholic Mission compound to provide to the admitted patients. 
A coordination meeting was held in Gambella town on April 24 to discuss 
the most immediate and appropriate interventions and define the role of 
each organisation. The RHB and MSF-CH will be involved in case 
management, surveillance and community awareness, while UNICEF will be 
involved in the provision of clean water, sanitation, shelter material 
and oral re-hydration salts and drugs. Meanwhile, UNICEF has dispatched 
US$ 543,000 worth of supplies to Gambella, including pillow tanks, 
tents, Emergency Water Treatment Units and medical supplies based on the 
requests received from the respective regional bureaus.  The RHB has 
also committed Birr 250,000 to avert this crisis. In addition, MSF-CH 
dispatched a team comprised of two health specialists and medical 
supplies. Contact: mapted@unicef.org

RAINFALL UPDATE: GU/HAGAYA RAINS RESUME IN SOMALI REGION AND BORENA ZONE

After seven to ten days of a dry spell, the gu/hagaya (belg) rains 
resumed in Somali Region and southern parts of Oromiya Region. Following 
the generally good rainfall during the first dekad of April, the second 
dekad was dry in Somali Region.  Since 20 April, the rains have resumed 
and several woredas report 1-3 days of light to heavy rainfall over the 
last week, including:  Guradamole and Bare woredas of Afder zone, Jijiga 
town, Warder woreda of Warder zone, Gerbo woreda of Fik Zone, and 
Gunagado, Degahamedo, and Degahabur woredas in Degehabur zone. Recent 
reports from Gode indicate that Guradamole, Gorobokoksa, Elkere and 
Hargele enjoyed good rainfall on 24 April.  On 26 April, there was 
favorable rainfall in Gode town as well as in Mustahil, Ferfer and 
Kelafo woredas that lasted for about six hours, as well as light showers 
in Kebridehar and Adadele woredas.  There are reports of migration of 
people (including cross border from Somalia)  to areas that received 
good rains. This posed a serious health threat in the region as measles 
cases was confirmed among families that had recently migrated to Bare 
woreda, who had missed the recent vaccination campaigns. Similarly, the 
rains in Borena resumed on 19 April, improving pasture (especially 
browse) and water availability. Consequently, water tankering operations 
are suspended in the zone and attention is shifting to water 
purification and general hygiene and sanitation activities.  Efforts 
continue in maintenance and rehabilitation of water schemes as longer 
term solutions, and the procurement of spares and equipments worth 
US$250,000 has been finalised by UNICEF.

The latest update on the belg rains indicate that, with the exception of 
the lowland areas of Sidama zone, the Southern Nations, Nationalities 
and Peoples Region (SNNPR) had a generally good rainfall in both the 
first and second weeks of April. In Derashe Special woreda and the rift 
valley areas of the region, there have been localised floods following 
heavy rainfall in the first week of April.  In Oromiya, nearly all zones 
had favorable rainfall in the first week of the month. In the second 
week of April, West Hararghe, lowlands of Arsi and nearly all the 
western zones of the region received no rains, while East Hararghe and 
West Shewa had poorly distributed rains. On the other hand, North Shewa, 
Jimma, Borena, Bale and most of Arsi received good precipitation during 
this period. Recent reports in Afar Region indicate that the flooding 
has receded and the Awash River has returned to its normal levels. The 
Federal Authorities have dispatched six tonnes of Corn Soya Blend (CSB), 
five plastic sheets, 0.4 tonnes of sugar, 10 tins of dates, 15 cartons 
of biscuits and three cartons of different utensils to the affected 
population.  For more information contact: wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

RELIEF FOOD DISPATCH UPDATE

The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency's (DPPA) daily 
dispatches continue to Somali Region and Borena zone of Oromiya Region. 
>From the 23,527 tonnes of food aid allocated for Somali Region for 
February, 74 percent has been dispatched to date. DPPA has also started 
moving small quantities of food allocated for March. For Borena zone of 
Oromiya Region, the DPPA has allocated 2,501 tonnes of food aid for 
February, of which it has currently dispatched 88 percent. From the 
2,238 tonnes allocated to Borena zone for the month of March, 97 percent 
has been dispatched. The DPPA has also dispatched 76 percent of Afar's 
March allocation (875 tonnes). For more information: 
wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

TARGETED SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING QUARTERLY PROGRESS

The first quarterly report of 2006 of the Targeted Supplementary Feeding 
Programme indicates that the programme has distributed 5,672 tonnes of 
food to 204,032 beneficiaries. Regions covered include: 105,000 
beneficiaries in SNNP;  78,457 beneficiaries in Tigray; and 20,575 
beneficiaries in Oromiya. During the same quarter, the programme was 
introduced to three new regions (Afar, Gambella and Beneshangul), 
training was provided to government staff, and the monitoring system was 
established across all regions. A pilot study was conducted in SNNPR to 
test a new model of distribution by pre-positioning food prior to the 
nutritional screening. The finding from the study indicates that the 
present logistics system is not adequate to cope with pre-positioning. 
However, the study strongly recommended that the food distribution 
agents should be involved in the nutrition screening process, as a way 
to increase the effectiveness of the screening and reduce opportunities 
for beneficiaries to double register. wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

POOR NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN KOMBOLCHA WOREDA, OROMIYA REGION

GOAL's nutritional survey (2-5 April) in Kombolcha woreda, East Hararghe 
zone in Oromiya Region reveals a 6.2 percent GAM and a 0.3 percent SAM 
with 0.49/10,000/day U5MR.  The nutritional level is considered as poor 
due to the presence of aggravating factors such as poor measles and BCG 
vaccination coverage and poor Vitamin A supplementation.  The report 
recommends improving the availability and quality of potable water 
through the construction of new water schemes and improving the coverage 
of BCG and measles immunisation as well as vitamin A supplementation. 
It also recommends increasing general primary healthcare education, 
particularly for women in the community, for long-term prevention of 
malnutrition and other diseases. goal.ethio@telecom.net.et

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