Situation Overview
Ethiopia is experiencing one of the most severe La Niña-induced droughts in the last forty years following four consecutive failed rainy seasons since late 2020. The prolonged drought continues to compromise fragile livelihoods heavily reliant on livestock and deepening food insecurity and malnutrition.
More than 8 million1 pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in Somali (3.5 million), Oromia (3.4 million), SNNP (1 million) and South-West (more than 15,000 people) regions are currently affected by the drought, of which more than 7.2 million people need food assistance and 4.4 million people need water assistance. Nearly 2.1 million livestock have died, while at least 22 million livestock are at risk and are very weak and emaciated with no or little milk production, the main source of nutrition for children.
Rainfall in the early part of the long rains season (March-May) has been broadly below normal and the limited rains are not expected to have replenished water sources. As per the most recent weather forecast, the overall situation is not expected to improve soon with La Niña conditions expected to continue into late 2022 with low rainfalls, compounding impacts from recent dry seasons. It is further projected that drought conditions will further worsen and expand to new geographic areas notably in the North-East of the country requiring continued, increased, and immediate life-saving response over the months to come to address increasing needs in scope and scale.
The humanitarian situation continues to worsen in drought affected areas and across sectors of intervention. During the first quarter of 2022, there has been an increase in the number of new severely acute malnutrition cases with more than 30,000 children being treated in health facilities compared to same period last year. The increased proportion is 37 per cent in Somali and 27 per cent in SNNP. Over the next months, a spike is forecasted in the number of acute malnutrition cases in drought affected areas of up from the first quarter of the year. Nutrition partners are targeting 1,064,668 people in drought affected areas for nutrition interventions including more than 185,000 children under five with severe acute malnutrition, more than 478,000 children with moderate acute malnutrition, and more than 206,000 pregnant and lactating women with acute malnutrition.
In Somali Region, measles cases were first reported in December 13, 2021 in Dollo woreda in Liban Zone. As of 27 May, some 1,618 cases and 34 deaths were reported in affected areas, with Liban Zone acounting for about 49 per cent of the cases followed by Fafan Zone with 14 per cent of the cases and Afder Zone with 11 per cent.
Prices for staple and non-staple food have significantly increased, further exposing vulnerable communities to food insecurity. In pastoral areas of Somali, for instance, three goats are currently needed to purchase 100 KG of teff, compared to only one goat before the drought. Prices of grains have also doubled. The terms of trade for livestock sales have reduced by 40 per cent due to low purchasing and poor livestock conditions impacting severely households’ income.
Between October 2021 and mid-April 2022, more than 344,000 people have been displaced in search of water, pasture, and assistance, including 175,000 people in Somali Region and 139,000 people in southern Oromia Region.
Children’s education is increasingly affected with school dropout rate increasing due to families migrating to better-off areas and due to lack of water sources at schools. More than 2,000 schools are closed including 1,800 schools in Somali, 334 schools in East and West Hararge zones in Oromia regions alone, affecting more than 682,000 students. Worsened by the drought impact compounded with limited water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions, there is a fear of water borne diseases like cholera in some of the drought affected areas.
In some parts of the drought-affected areas, access to people in need by humanitarian organizations has become increasingly difficult due to renewed security concerns and violence. Such areas include Guji and West Guji zones in Oromia, where the movement of critical supplies such as food and nutrition are a huge challenge. The access situation slightly improved at the end of May, particularly in the West Guji zone. Similarly, the conflict in Konso Zone in SNNP affecting an estimated 60,000 people, including 23,000 people displaced in late April, is also affected by the drought, leading to lack of access for displaced people to their land and access to humanitarian organizations to drought-affected people. The violence also destroyed health facilities and schools impacting in turn related drought responses such as health, nutrition, education, and WASH. In the Somali region, Galuun bridge that connects Dawa and Liben zones often submerges during rainy seasons effectively blocking movement between the two zones. In addition, ongoing hostilities in Southern Oromia have restricted access to Dawa and Liben zones via the Oromia region.
On 13 May, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, concluded a two-day visit to Kenya where he saw first-hand the devastating impact of a fourth consecutive failed rainy season in the Horn of Africa. During the visit, he spoke virtually with affected people in Korehey Zone in the Somali Region. “Each of the people I spoke with were clear: this crisis is threatening both their lives, and their way of life. They need the world’s attention and action. Now,” he said.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs