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KEY MESSAGES
Humanitarian needs in Ethiopia have increased significantly in 2020 due to COVID-19 and other health outbreaks, the invasion of desert locusts, conflict and flooding. For example, the number of food insecure people in need of assistance has risen from 5.9 million people at the beginning of the year to 11.8 million in the middle of the year. Similarly, the projected malnourished children and pregnant and lactating mothers increased from 3.6 million to 4.4 million.
All groups saw an increase in the number of people selected for assistance in the middle of the year.
Despite rapidly increasing needs, Ethiopia’s Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is at its lowest funding level in the last decade, with a gap of $ 773.9 million. The plan requires 1.44 billion dollars to allocate 15.1 million people with emergency assistance and protection (61% children, 21% women and 9% people with disabilities). Four critical groups have received less than 10% of the necessary funding: Emergency Shelter / NFI (5%); Protection (7 percent); Education (7%); Agriculture (8 percent); Despite having to respond to floods, COVID-19 and many other vector and waterborne diseases, Health receives only 11% of funding and WASH only 18%. The Logistics Cluster, which provides common services vital to the entire operation, is only 16% funded. Nutrition is financed by 26%, while 49% of emergency food needs are covered. The longer people go without food, the more likely they are to become malnourished, particularly children under 5 years of age and pregnant and lactating mothers.
The cost of not responding
Without urgent additional funding, needs will deepen and women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities and displaced persons will be forced to resort to negative coping mechanisms, exacerbating their situation. For example, funding gaps in the Food Group are likely to worsen food and nutrition insecurity among the most vulnerable communities, including 2.8 million displaced / returnees. Due to lack of funding, around 80% of the selected woredas will not receive any kind of child protection support in 2020, leaving some 112,000 children vulnerable to violence (including gender-based violence), exploitation, abuse and harmful practices. Similarly, without funding, the Education Cluster will not be able to support the safe school reopening activities scheduled for September / October, which will affect 2.6 million targeted children, particularly the most marginalized and vulnerable children. The Health Group warns that at least 2.1 million people are at risk of being left without or limited access to essential health services if funds are not mobilized urgently, which is expected to generate excess morbidity and mortality (see the detail on the cost of non-response by group in the table below).
Multiple clusters are already facing pipeline outages, with dire consequences for people in need of assistance and protection. Due to a deficit of $ 13.3 million in cash resources for food assistance, there have been cuts starting with round 5, which began in September; At least 15 of the 30 emergency medical kits and supplies are already out of stock, and 10 more will be broken on October 31, 2020 if additional funds are not received urgently.
The situation of displaced families is particularly critical because they are unable to meet their basic needs and, without additional support, they are exhausting the overloaded capacity of host communities. Without urgent funds to support displaced people and host communities, intra- and inter-communal tensions, including along ethnic lines, and stigmatization and denial of services for internally displaced persons (which are already being reported) can increase. could increase.
Experience dictates that the deeper the vulnerabilities, the more time and resources are needed to address them.
