EMBARGOED TO THE MEDIA UNTIL WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2003, 1100 NEW YORK TIME 

Ethiopia

2004 HUMANITARIAN APPEAL

SUMMARY

The 2004 Humanitarian Appeal is the result of joint efforts by the Government of Ethiopia, concerned UN organizations, international and national NGOs and donors. It is based on comprehensive countrywide assessments of food, health and nutrition and water and sanitation situations. The Appeal also considers special humanitarian needs related to education and HIV/AIDS, including specific requirements related to gender issues and child protection.

The overall objective of the interventions in 2004 is to address the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable populations and to reduce suffering in the aftermath of the drought and acute crisis in 2003, as well as to respond to any likely emergency situations in 2004.

Needs for 2004 have reduced from those of 2003 as a consequence of better rains and harvest prospects. When compared with the scale of crisis in 2003, domestic food supply prospects for 2004 are good due to a near-normal meher season (June-September) in most parts of the country. Although the overall humanitarian needs appear to be reduced significantly, the underlying structural problems, coupled with localized shocks (e.g. climate, pests, malaria epidemic and other disease outbreaks) and the continuing impact of unfavourable terms of trade in coffee for the existence of a beneficiary population of 7.2 million in 2004, a 45% reduction from the 13.2 million assisted in 2003. This translates into a food requirement of 964,690 tonnes. With a carryover of 122,780 tonnes from 2003, the net requirement for food aid amounts to 841,910 tonnes. The Appeal also seeks a total of US$ 85 million in non-food assistance. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the problem faced in 2003 and the concomitant destitution that accompanies the process of severe food insecurity would mean a considerable challenge in 2004.

Pastoral areas of the country remain comparatively more vulnerable in general, with some areas pointing toward crisis. Water and fodder requirements in the mainly pastoral areas, where successive seasons of drought have eroded pastoralists' assets remain significant. Further assessments that would update the situation will be conducted.

In the agricultural sector seed shortages remain critical. A planning figure of 450,000 households is estimated to require seed distributions to recover from the effects of last years shocks and resume production in 2004.

Food insecurity, combined with poor health infrastructure and service delivery, continues to manifest itself in growing epidemics. The current wide spread malaria outbreak, mainly in the mid and lowland areas, continues to exacerbate food shortages and raise mortality -- making recovery from the crisis of 2003 slow, if not impossible, for some households due to loss of labour. The loss of labour to a household is as critical in household food insecurity as rain failure.

HIV/AIDS has the potential to become another key cause of food insecurity, by depleting essential assets -- both capital and human. Activities to address the pandemic have been considered in the overall humanitarian efforts in 2004.

In general, good main rains in 2003 resulted in the discontinuation of water-tankering operations in water deficit areas. While efforts of the last year in water and sanitation have generally improved the water availability situations of drought-affected populations, it is imperative that the humanitarian response for 2004 addresses the remaining critical gaps.

Meeting the needs of the expected beneficiary population is not without challenges. Collective action and an unprecedented donor and public response throughout 2003 prevented widespread famine-related mortality. In total, donors contributed over 1.7 million tonnes of cereals, pulses, oil and blended food in 2003 -- 94% of requirements (for details refer to Annex 2). Of this, 1.6 million tonnes were distributed in 2003, with "carry over" of 122,780 tonnes for needs in 2004. Similarly, significant response was recorded against non-food food requirements

Despite the overwhelming response, delays in resource delivery affected the emergency response particularly for the first half of 2003, demonstrating again that timely delivery is as important as the overall quantity of resources delivered in an emergency. In this regard, donors are encouraged to make early and generous contributions to the appeal for 2004.

The major challenge likely to be faced by the humanitarian efforts in 2004 will be to link medium and longer-term initiatives that address food and livelihood insecurity. Initiatives under the New Coalition for Food Security to improve availability and access to food, to promote preventative and curative health services and to provide safety nets for about 5 million persons, will begin implementation in 2004. It is in this context that this humanitarian appeal for 2004 is launched.

The humanitarian assistance requirements for both food and non-food for 2004 are summarized below.
 

Funding Requirements in 2004
(US$)