Ethiopia

In 2023, Ethiopia's primary drivers of humanitarian need continue to be insecurity, displacement, drought in some parts of the country, and seasonal floods in others. In addition, soaring prices and reduced purchasing power have created economic barriers for IDPs, Returnees and the host communities to access essential household items or Shelters.

The recent conflicts in the Amhara region and the security, access, and displacement situation in Benishangul and, most notably, in Oromia regions are driving high needs and displacements within these regions and to the neighboring regions. In the northern Ethiopia conflicts, following the Peace Agreement signed in November 2022, the majority of the displaced in Afar (194,960) and Amhara (1,422,074) have returned to their place of origin. At the same time, with the formation of the Tigray Interim Government, stable security situation, improved access, and mobility, the displaced population within Tigray began to return spontaneously, and so far, 1,256,297 have returned to all accessible zones. Many Woredas in the Northern Ethiopia conflicts and the Western Oromia remained in a conflict zone for more than two years, sustaining extensive damages to the Shelters and other infrastructure. For instance, recently conducted ES/NFI Cluster lead Loss and Damage Assessments in the four zones of Tigray identified, on average, in some of the Woredas, 25% of the shelters are either entirely or partially damaged. In Afar, a post-return Protection Monitoring identified HLP as one of the concerns in addition to the infrastructure and Shelter damage.

These intersecting and overlapping crises require constant monitoring and reprioritizing of targets and responses to be able to mobilize and direct very limited resources to where they are most needed. For the remaining five months, bearing in mind the shifting and the dynamic of the conflict in Ethiopia, the focus of some interventions will be recalibrated to what is critically needed for the remainder of 2023. Beyond survival, Shelter is necessary to provide security, ensure personal safety and protection, and promote resistance to ill health and disease; however, as of August, the cluster partners only reached 34% of its target on the Shelter related activities for both IDPs and returnees. Therefore, the primary focus will be the provision of adequate Shelters to both IDPs and those who are returning and living in sub-standard conditions. These are the returnees in Afar, Amhara, Benishngul Gumz, and Tigray, the IDPs in Western Oromia, Somali, Tigray, and Amhara. To reflect these priorities, the Cluster target revised to 3,164,404 people, comprising 845,985 men, 906,198 women, 687,429 boys, 724,792 girls, and 431,001 persons with disabilities.

The ES/NFI Cluster's response priorities aim to align with the population's needs and reduce health and protection risks by providing adequate living conditions. 956,124 people have been targeted with ESNFI kits, 1,380,210 with NFI kits, 973,837 with Emergency Shelter assistance, and 543,526 with repair kits across the country, of which 407,560, 533,395, 136,976, and 102,046 have been reached, respectively.