Situation in drought-stricken region of Ethiopia continues to deteriorate – UN

The humanitarian situation in south-eastern Ethiopia continues to deteriorate, with increasing livestock deaths, serious shortage of water and high levels of malnutrition, United Nations officials reported today in their latest update on the drought in a region where more than 1.5 million people need urgent aid to stave off starvation.

Large-scale migration from Kenya and Somalia has been observed, and large population movements from rural to urban areas are also reportedly taking place, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

While several projects are addressing the drought situation, more interventions are needed especially in the non-food sector, it added. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is increasing its monitoring capacity in the areas, through hiring of new food aid monitors and field assistants.

Earlier this month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) appealed for $18.5 million to help farmers, herders and others suffering through a drought that has created severe food shortages with pre-famine conditions and widespread migrations of people and animals in the country’s mainly Somali region.