UNICEF: Prolonged drought pushing people in Ethiopia to face humanitarian crisis

The Ethiopian region is witnessing a severe drought-like situation due to no rainfall in the last three consecutive rainy seasons. Due to the devastating drought, Ethiopia’s lowland regions of Afar, Oromia, the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ (SNNPR) and Somali regions have completely dried up, killing livestock and crops and pushing hundreds of thousands of children and their families to the brink, reported United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF.

According to a UNICEF report, over 6.8 million people in drought-impacted areas will be in need of urgent humanitarian assistance by mid-2022. "The impact of the drought is devastating," said Gianfranco Rotigliano, UNICEF Ethiopia Representative. Children and their families are struggling to survive due to loss of livelihoods and livestock, and it is projected that more than 6.8 million people will be in need of urgent humanitarian assistance by mid-March 2022. We are also witnessing major displacement out of affected areas.

UNICEF: Prolonged drought pushing families in Ethiopia to face extreme water and food crisis

The lowland areas of southern and eastern Oromia and Somali regions are the most severely affected regions, and the situation in these regions continues to worsen due to a lack of clean water. The food crisis is leading to an increase in cases of malnutrition in these regions. "In drought-affected areas in Oromia and Somalia, around 225,000 malnourished children and over 100,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women need urgent nutrition support," said Rotigliano. "The lack of clean water is further exacerbating the situation for children and women. If children are forced to drink contaminated water, it puts them at risk of various diseases, including diarrhoea, which is a major cause of death among children under five, "he added.

So far, around 4.4 million people residing in the drought-impacted areas in Oromia and Somali regions are facing an extreme crisis of water, and it is estimated that by the end of 2022, an estimated 850,000 children will be severely malnourished across the four regions due to multiple causes, including conflict, drought, and economic downturn.

Children forced to leave schools due to water crisis

Children are unable to attend school as a result of the severe water crisis, and they are also missing out on education. The report stated that more than 1,55,000 children in the lowlands of Somalia and Oromania regions have stopped going to school so they can fetch water while travelling long distances. Notably, UNICEF is coordinating with the local authorities to extend life-saving aid to those people who are in extreme need.

The initiatives taken by UNICEF include the rehabilitation of boreholes and water schemes, emergency water trucking, treatment of severely malnourished children, and providing emergency education and child protection support. Through its work, UNICEF aims to reach out to more than two million vulnerable people in the Afar, Oromia, SNNPR, and Somali regions. Its drought response appeal for impacted areas in Ethiopia is USD $31 million, in addition to the overall humanitarian appeal of USD $351 million.

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