OCHA Situation Report
Ethiopia
30 July 2007


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

SECURITY SITUATION IN SOMALI REGION

The situation in Somali Region continues to be of concern. NGOs and 
humanitarian partners operating there face increasing challenges in 
their interventions due to the security situation. This week, the 
International Committee of the Red Cross was asked to leave the region 
and was scheduled to have closed its offices by Monday, 30 July. Fears 
that the humanitarian situation could deteriorate remain and the 
humanitarian community are particularly concerned about issues 
pertaining to protection, availability of food, Acute Watery Diarrhoea 
(AWD) and other health related matters. Humanitarian partners continue 
to express their strong desire for more humanitarian access. The Deputy 
Humanitarian Coordinator and Head of OCHA Ethiopia undertook a field 
mission to Jijiga last week to consult with regional government, the UN, 
international and local NGOs in order to better understand how the UN 
can support humanitarian actions and improve humanitarian access in 
Somali Region. Emergency food aid was reported by DPPA to begin to be 
delivered to the five zones of the region under military operations. 
For more information contact: ocha-eth@un.org

WORRYING FOOD SECURITY SITUATION IN OROMIYA REGION

Worsening food security situations have been reported in West Arsi and 
West Hararghe zones, Oromiya Region. In West Arsi zone, the findings of 
the recent belg assessment mission state that the food situation in 
Gedeb Asasa, Dodola and Arsi Negele woredas is worrying and immediate 
relief assistance for 38,000 people has been recommended. The food 
problem in lowland areas of Arsi Negele woreda is chronic caused mainly 
by recurrent drought. In West Hararghe zone, reports from WFP field 
monitoring visits indicate a deteriorating food security situation in 
Kuni, Habru, Guba koricha and Doba woredas.  Enhanced Outreach Strategy 
(EOS) screening results also point to increased levels of acute 
malnutrition in Doba, Gub Koricha and Habro woredas.  The Regional Food 
Security and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau transferred 
targeted supplementary food to help address the malnutrition cases. In 
the other woredas, the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) 
Contingency Fund has been tasked to address relief food requirements. 
There are concerns, however, that the contingency fund allowance is 
insufficient to cover the current need and more critically, has not, 
with the exception of Habro, been received by the affected woredas. In 
response, Oromiya Region has requested the FDPPA to include an 
additional case load in the current relief operation.  For more 
information contact: wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

ACUTE WATERY DIARRHOEA UPDATE

A total of 64 woredas from the six AWD-affected regions continue to 
report cases. Wollessa woreda, South West Shoa zone in Oromiya Region 
and Kabena woreda, SNNPR were newly affected. Other areas where the 
epidemic had previously been controlled such as Sidama zone, SNNPR and 
North Gojam zone, Amhara Region have also resumed reporting. The 
majority of cases have been reported, however, from Zone 1, Afar Region, 
Afar, Guji and Borena zones, Oromiya Region and Jijiga zone, Somali 
Region.  Inaccessibility caused by the ongoing military operation in 
other areas of Somali Region has resulted in no reports being received 
from these areas. Informal reports indicate, however, that the situation 
there could be deteriorating. NGOs operating in the region continue to 
face difficulties with response and are now mainly based in Jijiga and 
Gode. Meanwhile, in other parts of the country response is ongoing. In 
Addis Ababa, the City Administration Council has allocated funds for 
preparedness. In Afar Region, ICRC is supporting CTC establishment and 
case management in Bure Madaytu woreda. UNICEF and the Regional 
Government have facilitated the resumption of emergency coordination 
taskforce meetings which recommenced at the beginning of July. The 
Taskforce has agreed to meet on a bi-monthly basis in response to the 
continued reporting of new cases of AWD. The next meeting, chaired by 
the Regional Health Bureau will be held on 8 August. For more 
information contact: who-wro@et.afro.who.int & kmcdonald@unicef.org

FOOD DISPATCH UPDATE

Based on the recent sugum/belg assessment results, DPPA dispatched 
approximately 641 tonnes of relief food (wheat grain, blended food, 
Pulses and Vegetable oil) for 35,000 beneficiaries in Ewa, Aura and 
Golina woredas, zone four, Afar Region. This was in addition to 36 
tonnes of supplementary food transported to Chifra woreda in zone one. 
DPPA also allocated approximately 1,276 tonnes of relief food to assist 
70,000 food insecure people in East Hararghe and West Wollega, Oromiya 
Region. All of these allocations are for the month of July. In addition, 
approximately 572 tonnes of emergency food has been dispatched as part 
of the second round of relief for 31,000 beneficiaries in ten woredas of 
Gambella Region. For more information contact: wfp.addisababa@wfp.org

REVIEW OF HRF FUNDED AWD INTERVENTION PROJECTS

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and OCHA Ethiopia 
undertook an evaluation of OCHA's Humanitarian Response Fund's WASH 
interventions targeting the AWD epidemic, between 2-23 July. Preliminary 
findings indicate that the establishment of taskforces was timely and 
that coordination helped to prevent duplication during the response. 
Moreover, improvement in water quality contributed greatly towards 
minimizing the transmission of cases. The lack of commercial 
availability of water purification agents in rural areas was, however, 
cited as a major limitation. While water source construction and 
rehabilitation was seen as a vital intervention, the need to link such 
interventions with long-term development programs for prevention was 
also observed. Long-term investment of this kind, however, is beyond the 
scope of the HRF. The evaluation team's report with their findings and 
detailed analysis will be disseminated to all key WASH actors upon 
completion. For more information contact: ocha-eth@un.org

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