WFP Ethiopia Country Brief, February 2022

In Numbers

• 3.5 million people assisted

• USD 5.7 million through cash-based transfers

• USD 604 million (March – August 2022) net funding requirements

• 31,533 mt of food assistance distributed

Operational Updates

• In February, WFP provided food and nutrition assistance to 3.5 million people, including those affected by drought and floods, internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees and malnourished women and children. WFP also continued to provide life-saving food and nutrition assistance in conflict-affected Northern Ethiopia.

Relief

• In the Tigray Region, WFP delivered emergency food assistance to 15,059 people – the number is far lower than the planned due to lack of fuel and food entering Tigray Region. In the Afar and Amhara regions, WFP provided food and nutrition assistance to 114,300 and 83,824 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and food insecure people in host communities in February.

• In the Somali Region, WFP continued to provide food assistance to IDPs, and people affected by drought, but with reduced ration of cereal due to funding shortage. WFP assisted 1.3 million people with 16,253 mt of food and USD 4.8 million in cash-based transfers (CBT) during February.

Nutrition

• In February, WFP provided treatment of moderate acute malnutrition and prevention of wasting to 611,027 children under the age of 5, as well as pregnant and lactating women and girls (PLWG) through distribution of 3,373 mt of specialized nutritious foods under targeted supplementary feeding (TSF) and blanket supplementary feeding (BSF) activities.

Support to Refugees

• WFP supported 707,108 refugees with 7,993 mt of in-kind food assistance and USD 469,542 cash-based transfers (CBT) in 24 refugee camps across Ethiopia in February. Critical funding shortfalls resulted in refugees receiving only 60 percent rations.

School Feeding

• In February, WFP’s on-site school feeding activities reached 168,012 school children with 382 mt of food. WFP supported 52,104 children through its home-grown school feeding initiative procuring food locally.

Fresh Food Vouchers (FFV)

• The FFV Programme supports households with PLWG and children under the age of 2 to access fresh food and improve their dietary diversity. In February, WFP re-started providing fresh food vouchers to 13,876 people in need in Amhara Region, after it was stopped since November 2021 due to the conflict.

Livelihoods

• To strengthen the livelihoods of communities, WFP supported over 54,625 people through its resilience building and livelihood activities.

Under this initiative, activities included technical support to 138 enterprise owners in Gambella and the cultivation of 200 hectares of land for cropping season in Somali region benefiting 400 households.

Climate Risk Management

• To mitigate risks posed by the desert locust invasion, flooding and other climate shocks, WFP assisted 248,970 beneficiaries in the Somali Region through the Satellite Index Insurance for Pastoralists in Ethiopia project, which provides livestock insurance and greater protection to pastoralists.

Supply chain

• WFP’s food and fuel stocks continued to run perilously low inside the Tigray Region – convoys have not been allowed into Tigray since mid- December 2021.

• In February, WFP dispatched 10 convoys with 2.7 mt of relief commodities and 125 mt of nutrition commodities within the Afar region.

• In Amhara region, WFP dispatched 1,415 mt of nutrition items throughout Amhara Region from both the Gondar and Kombolcha hubs.

• As part of WFP’s Service Provision, WFP supported UNHCR and IOM with 9,000 litres of fuel in Asossa to support relocation of refugees from Gure-Shambola and Tongo camps to Tsore camp.

• As part of the COVID-19 response, the Addis Ababa Humanitarian Air Hub successfully delivered 49 mt of COVID – 19 personal protective equipment and general medical supplies on behalf of the African CDC to Malawi, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Accountability to Affected Populations

• WFP continued its advocacy and awareness raising efforts on prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and gender-based violence (GBV). In Hawassa, WFP distributed 2,085 PSEA materials and 552 GBV pocket guides at WFP assisted programme sites.

Cross-border Assistance to South Sudan

• WFP Ethiopia continued to support WFP’s operations in South Sudan through river and road deliveries. Airdrop operations have been suspended from November to date due to operational challenges.

United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS)

• In February, UNHAS transported 95 kg of light humanitarian cargo and 664 passengers within Ethiopia.

Source: World Food Programme