OCHA Situation Report
Ethiopia
5 May 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

RESPONSES TO ACUTE WATERY DIARRHOEA IN GAMBELLA REGION

Recent reports indicate that ten people died and up to 1,400 people to 
date are affected by acute watery diarrhoea in Gambella Region, 
particularly in Gambella and Itang woredas.  A few non-fatal cases have 
been reported in three refugee camps in the area.  Presently UNHCR has 
suspended the repatriation operation of South Sudanese refugees due to 
logistical problems and as a preventive measure to the outbreak. The 
situation is exacerbated by a severe shortage of clean drinking water at 
Gambella Hospital.  MSF-CH is treating the Baro river water with 
chlorine, and Population Services International's WaterGuard, a chlorine 
treatment, is being sold on the market in Gambella town. Following the 
outbreak, the Regional Council established a Regional Task Force, 
presided by the Vice President of the Region. The Regional Health 
Bureau, as the main actor for the management and control of the 
outbreak, established two Technical Task Forces (case management and 
prevention and control), which meets fortnightly.  At the Federal level, 
a UN inter-agency meeting was called by the WHO to discuss further 
preparedness and response plan. To discuss the water supply system in 
Gambella, the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) jointly with UNICEF 
convened an urgent meeting on 3 May in Addis Ababa with private and 
public enterprises. In the meeting, partners agreed to carry out interim 
activities in the region. MoWR will provide a generator, a de-watering 
pump, and six sets of 5,000 litre water bladders. It will also provide 
two trucks to carry the emergency supplies to Gambella town, as well as 
to provide water trucking services for the initial period of one month. 
WATT International (private organisation) has donated a submersible pump 
of 4 litre/second capacity in support of clean water provision and Water 
Works Construction Enterprise (WWCE) in an effort to solve the fuel 
shortage in the town, it has allowed the use of its fuel station in 
Gambella.  UNICEF will arrange the use of the Catholic Church Mission's 
borehole to draw water from the source and WWCE will install a temporary 
distribution system by laying a provisional pipeline. UNICEF is 
negotiating to send a drilling rig to fix Gambella's town system. UNICEF 
has also sent four Emergency Water treatment Units, water purification 
chemicals, which are sufficient for up to two months, 200 Plastic 
Squatting Plates, 30 OXFAM Sanitation Kits, 12 water bladders as well as 
14,000 bars of soap. In addition, UNICEF provided the treatment centres 
with ORS, ringers lactate and antibiotic drugs for the treatment of 
3,000 cases of Acute Diarrhoeal Disease.  To support the regional 
response activities, MoWR and UNICEF have sent experts to provide 
technical support in the areas of water quality and treatment. The 
Ministry of Health has also dispatched a health professional to assess 
the situation and identify gaps. Assessment reports will be shared with 
all partners in the coming week. Contact: mapted@unicef.org & 
GEGZIABK@unhcr.org

ALARMING MALNUTRITION IN MAREKO WOREDA, SNNPR

Action Contre la Faim (ACF) conducted a nutritional survey in Mareko 
woreda in Gurage zone, SNNPR in mid April and preliminary results 
indicate alarming malnutrition with 13.6 percent Global Acute 
Malnutrition (GAM) and 2.7 percent Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). 
Consequently, ACF opened a Therapeutic Feeding Programme in the woreda 
on 24 April and admitted 91 under five children during the first four 
days. In addition, following depletion of food stocks from the previous 
harvest, high grain prices and delays in transferring the safety net 
resources, the lowland areas of Gurage, Selti, Kembata-Tembaro, Sidama 
and Dawro zones are suffering from food shortages.  A recent DPPA-led 
rapid assessment revealed increased malnutrition among vulnerable 
groups.  Contact:  aicf@ethionet.et & wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

SERIOUS NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN FENTALE WOREDA, OROMIYA REGION

GOAL's nutritional survey in Fentale woreda, East Shewa zone in Oromiya 
Region reveals a 12.2 percent GAM and a 1.5 percent SAM with 0.86 
/10,000/day U5MR. The nutritional level is considered as serious due to 
the presence of aggravating factors such as poor food security status, 
low coverage of measles vaccination and vitamin A supplementation, and 
relatively high morbidity rate of infectious diseases.  The report 
recommends the resumption of general food distribution for both the 
safety net and emergency programmes and blanket supplementary feeding 
for children under five, lactating and pregnant women and the elderly. 
DPPA is dispatching a full relief food basket to the woreda for 6,300 
beneficiaries for the month of March and to date the dispatch status is 
at 90 percent. All of the Safety Net allocation to Fentale for February 
has been dispatched (383 tonnes of cereals). Meanwhile, the food 
security situation in Fedis, Kersa, Golo-Oda, Goro-Gutu, Babile, 
Haro-Maya and Gursum woredas is also reportedly deteriorating due to 
delays in transfers for the Productive Safety Net Programme.  A DPPA-led 
rapid assessment mission is expected begin in the coming week to assess 
the situation. Contact: goal.ethio@telecom.net.et & 
wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

RISKS AND REPORTS OF FLOODING IN THE COUNTRY

Moderate to heavy rainfall dominated much of the past week in most zones 
of Somali Region.  Following increased precipitation, water levels at 
some of the major catchment areas of the Shebele, Genale and Dawa rivers 
have been steadily increasing in the past few days. However, the latest 
report from the WFP Gode sub-office indicates that the level of the 
Shebele River is subsiding and there are no reports of flooding along 
the river basin. Nevertheless, if rainfall continues with the current 
intensity there is still a risk of flooding in some areas along the 
river, including Gode, Kelafo, Mustahil and Ferfer woredas of Gode zone. 
The last severe flooding of the Shebele River occurred at the end of 
April 2005 affecting thousands of people.  Currently, one section of 
Dolo Odo town in Liben zone is reportedly encircled by floods from the 
Dawa River and as a result some people in the town have already been 
relocated. In Southern Nations, Nationalities and People Region (SNNPR), 
evenly distributed rains have been reported. The amount has been 
moderate to heavy with isolated incidences of floods and/or hailstorms 
in parts of Wolayita, Gedio, Gamo Gofa and Sidama zones.  The rainfall 
is generally rated as favourable for belg crop development. Belg rains 
this year in East Hararghe of Oromiya Region and in Dire Dawa and Harar 
are reportedly better than last year. The generally good rains in 
March/April in these areas have improved water and pasture supplies, 
especially in the lowland areas where serious shortages were reported 
during the preceding dry months. Heavy rains in the last week of April 
caused some floods in Deder woreda of East Hararghe zone. Rainfall in 
Tigray, particularly in the belg crop growing areas, has been favourable 
during the month of April and many woredas in the Southern zone have 
received 12-18 days of light to heavy precipitation. The rainfall 
situation in the belg producing eastern zones of Amhara (North Wello, 
South Wello, Oromiya and North Shewa zones) has been mixed. North Wello 
had medium to heavy falls in most of its woredas and some areas of the 
other eastern zones received light to medium rainfall. However, Afar 
Region had no rains this week except some light showers observed in 
Awash town of Zone 3. Meanwhile, some delays in food dispatches are 
being experienced due to bad road conditions caused by the heavy rains, 
especially in Afder zone of Somali Region and Afar Region.  From the 
23,500 tonnes of relief food allocated for Somali Region in February, 83 
percent has been dispatched to date.  DPPA has also started moving small 
quantities of food allocated during March.  For Afar Region, DPPA has 
dispatched 76 percent of March's allocation (875 tonnes).  For Borena 
zone of Oromiya Region, the DPPA has allocated 2,500 tonnes of food aid 
in February and currently the dispatch status is at 92 percent; and from 
the 2,200 tonnes allocated for March, 95 percent has been dispatched. 
Contact:  wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

For further information, please contact

UN OCHA -Ethiopia
Tel: 251- 11- 544 41 86/251- 11- 544 41 62
Fax: 251- 11- 5511292
email: ocha-eth@un.org
Website: www.ocha-eth.org

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