The relief food lifeline in the Somali region is expected to break soon, unless another USD 50 million is secured for two rounds of assistance, according to Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
The statement came during the launch of the Ethiopia Humanitarian and Disaster Resilience Plan (HDRP) for 2018 on Tuesday March 13, 2018.
“The needs of the 7.8 million Ethiopians that will be addressed through the plan are very real; we have not made those numbers up. In whatever manner we are able to assist, we need to do so immediately. The government has announced the first fund, new resources for the appeal and I think this is encouraging and exemplary, donors have been provided with the agreed top priorities for immediate funding,” Onochie said.
“While response in all sectors is required there are some very critical gaps that simply cannot wait. I note in particular that once again the relief food lifeline in Somali region is expected to break eminently unless we can secure another USD 50 million for two rounds of assistance. The lifeline for the therapeutic supplement feeding which treats moderate acute malnutrition is also about to break,” she also added.
The newly launched HDRP is seeking USD 1.6 billion to reach the 7.9 million people in need of assistance following recent successive failed or under-performing rains mainly in the southern and eastern parts of the country, an increase in conflict-related displacement along the border areas of the Oromia and Somali regions, and a lack of recovery opportunities.
While the document focuses primarily on immediate response requirements for 2018, it also lays out the basis for a three-pillar model that will allow for further planning and development investments: prevention and mitigation, preparedness and response and national systems strengthening and recovery.
“I hope the disaster risk management approach will equip us with the tools to collectively channel both development and humanitarian resources to address common root causes of high humanitarian needs and build resilient communities. Through implementation of the Disaster Risk Management Policy and enhanced capacity building from our partners, I am confident that the government will be able to handle future humanitarian needs,” said Mitiku Kassa, Commissioner of the National Disaster Risk Management Commission.
Ethiopia is entering a fourth year of exceptional drought emergency. In 2017, severe drought conditions continued in lowland, mostly pastoral areas, rendering hundreds of thousands destitute and displaced. The southern autumn rains again underperformed, though not at the level of ‘drought’, meaning that levels of food insecurity and acute malnutrition in the lowlands remain high. Meteorologists, including the National Meteorological Agency (NMA), are predicting that the current La Nina phenomenon may lead to reduced performance of spring rains, particularly over southern and eastern lowland areas.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, additional humanitarian needs have arisen due to conflict, with 857,000 Ethiopians displaced over the past year around the border areas of the Oromia and Somali Regions.
Many of those displaced over the course of 2017 are likely to require continuing relief assistance and recovery support in 2018. Indicative modeling and projections show that humanitarian needs and financial requirements are likely to remain similarly high for the following two years, 2019-2020.
Immediate assistance needed before relief food lifeline breaks
Ethiopia, 127th out of 156 in world happiness report Happy countries correlates with happy immigrants
The World Happiness Report ranks Ethiopia 127th out of 156 countries. The just released 2018 report ranks countries by their happiness levels. Finland tops the list with Switzerland, Norway and Denmark following as the most happy nations in the world.
The happiest countries, according to the report, scored high on six key variables found to support well-being: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. Among the top countries, differences are small enough that year-to-year changes in the rankings occur frequently.
An analysis of happiness scores from 2008-2010 to 2015-2016 shows that Togo has gained the most, moving up 17 places in the overall rankings from the last place position it held as recently as 2015. The biggest loser is Venezuela, down 2.2 points on the 0 to 10 scale.
Five of the report’s seven chapters deal primarily with migration, as summarized in Chapter 1. For both domestic and international migrants, the report studies not just the happiness of the migrants and their host communities, but also of those left behind, whether in the countryside or in the source country. The results are generally positive.
One of the most important findings of the report is that when countries are ranked according to the happiness of their immigrant populations the results are almost exactly the same.
The ten happiest countries in the overall rankings also are ten of the top eleven spots in the rankings of immigrant happiness. Finland is at the top of both rankings in this report, with the happiest immigrants, and the happiest population in general.
The closeness of the two rankings shows that the happiness of immigrants depends predominantly on the quality of life where they now live, illustrating a general pattern of convergence. ‘Happiness can change, and does change, according to the quality of the society in which people live,’ the report states.
The report points out that immigrant happiness, like that of the locally born, depends on a range of features of the social fabric, extending far beyond the higher incomes traditionally thought to inspire and reward migration. The countries with the happiest immigrants are not the richest countries, but instead the countries with a more balanced set of social and institutional supports for better lives.
Supplies to federal institutions delayed over price dispute
The Public Procurement and Property Disposal Service (PPPDS) announced that among the 49 private companies who agreed to supply detergent, toilet paper, tyres, toners, computers and stationary materials for federal institutions and universities have failed to live up to their end of the bargain.
At a meeting held on March7, at the Ministry of Finance and Economy Cooperation (MoFEC),companies who supply the product said that the recent dollar appreciation hampered their ability to supply the products at their old prices.
Tesfaye Birhanu PPPDS, Procurement Administration Vice head said, “two years ago the companies agreed to supply the materials to the government institutions for a three year period and now they are asking us for more money. We have sent their request to MoFEC but they want the materials sent at the original price.”
He added that low quality products also pose a problem.
“Like those who mix Teff flour with sawdust, some suppliers provided faulty products and we need to expose this practice,” he said.
Tesfaye also feels more local products should be procured.
“Toilet paper, soap, other little things are still imported and sold to government entities and many of the local factories don’t have the capacity to produce and supply the materials, we need to change our system and stop working like this and scale up local companies so they can supply these items to universities and other government institutions.”
In other news PPPDS announced that Belay Belayab Motors Plc won the tender to supply 400 vehicles to government official sat 352 million birr.
In this fiscal year PPPDS plan to procure 7.4 billion birr worth of different materials for universities.
Ethiopian refugees crossing to Kenya from Moyale reaches 9,667
By Eskedar Kifle
The number of displaced persons from Ethiopia has increased to 9,667, as of Friday March 16, according to a statement by the Kenyan Red Cross. The statement said that more and more people are continuing to cross the Ethiopia and Kenya border to seek refuge in Moyale, Marsabit County.
People started fleeing and crossing the border into Kenya after members of the Ethiopian army shot to death at least nine civilians in Moyale town. More than fifteen people were also wounded during the incident.
According to the Kenyan Red Cross, the displaced persons are currently concentrated in different areas in Kenya: Sessi (3,080 people), Sololo (2,792 people), Somare (1,830 people), Cifa/Butiye (890 people), Dambala Fachana (1,075 people) while others have integrated with the host community.
“A makeshift camp has been established at Dambala Fachana in Sololo to provide shelter for populations that were previously residing at Maeyi, Kukub, Gada Korma and Dambala Fachana in Sololo ward. Efforts to set up transitional shelters and finalize on the camp set up are also ongoing,” the statement read.
It is also stated that mass nutrition screening is currently ongoing to establish the nutritional status of children under five years, pregnant and lactating women. The prevailing situation in the makeshift camps continues to be of concern as the children may be susceptible to infections, especially with the onset of rains, which may lead to a decline in their nutritional status.
“The main ailments so far treated at the Out-Patient Department clinics during the medical outreaches are diarrhea, upper respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, eye infections and skin infections,” the statement reads.
The integrated medical outreaches have been conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH)–Kenya, Kenya Red Cross Society, Concern Worldwide and Beyond Zero Initiative.
“The Kenya Red Cross Society has been conducting multiple interventions since this crisis broke out. Today, we have led a high delegation to Moyale with key partners and decision makers for them to witness firsthand the critical needs of these families. We really hope for a sustainable solution,” said Dr. Abbas Gullet, Secretary General of Kenya Red Cross, in a press release sent out on Friday, March 16, 2018.
The statement also said that the Kenya Red Cross Society continues to provide the much-needed humanitarian support especially through food and non-food items, integrated medical outreaches, health education and sanitation. The county government has also been on site providing food and water to the refugees with support from well-wishers.
