Ethiopia
2023-09 Factsheet - Ethiopia
Highlights
In the 3rd quarter of 2023, the cluster continued to focus on unresolved issues with the relocation of IDPs from schools in Tigray and the shelter repair needs of IDPs returning to their places of origin in Afar, Benishangul Gumz, and Tigray. The cluster also continued to monitor and respond to new and secondary displacements especially as this period saw fresh outbreaks of conflict in Amhara and Gambela, outbreaks of cholera in Somali and Oromia, and seasonal floods caused by the Kiremt rainy season.
By the end of September, partners have reported reaching 35% of its 3.2M target (adjusted from 3.9M based on the Mid-Year Review) plus 10% more committed through ongoing activities and items in stock, leaving the cluster with a gap of 55% (1.8M people) yet to fill in the last quarter of 2023.
To increase the quality of its response activities, the cluster has led trainings in targeting guidelines, good distribution, and community engagement, for partners in Tigray and Afar, in September.
As July to September is characterized by heavy rains and seasonal floods, the cluster contributed to the Joint Government and Humanitarian Partners Flood Contingency Plan 2023 for the Kiremt rainy season (Jul-Sep), and in Q3, the cluster has provided ESNFI and NFI assistance to 30K people affected by floods in Afar, Oromia, and Somali regions.
In this period, the cluster participated in the Mid-Year Review (MYR) of the 2023 HRP and also conducted its annual Cluster Coordination Performance Monitoring (CCPM) exercise, both of which informed adjustments to the cluster’s strategy and planning for the second half of the year. This period also saw the cluster participating in the start of the inter-sectoral HNO process for 2024.
NFI
Shelter
Coverage against targets
Need analysis
Prioritization for the 3rd quarter, based on factors such as access, security, recurring displacement, neglected responses, and the number of displacements and existing cluster capacities, has identified 35 woredas in Afar, Amhara, Benishangul Gumz, Oromia, and Tigray regions under the Extreme severity category, 94 Woredas as Severe, and the rest of the woredas as Mildly moderate.
Oromia and Tigray were identified as having the highest number of woredas under the "Extreme" and "Severe" categories. This was due to IDP returns that were taking place and the relocation of the IDPs from schools in Tigray and access and limited responses in the Oromia region. These prioritizations were also informed by the MYR and CCPM exercises in July.
Adjustments to these prioritizations were made as changes to the operational context emerged.
Response
By the end of the 3rd quarter of 2023, the cluster has reached a little over a third (35%) of its 3.2M target population and committed to 10% more through ongoing activities, leaving a gap of 55% to fill for the last quarter of the year.
By activity, NFI and ESNFI assistance, in kind and in cash, account for 79% of the population reached across the eight regions targeted by the cluster. However, NFI and ESNFI assistance make up only 2% and 25%, respectively, of the population covered by ongoing activities as the cluster strategizes to provide further NFIs primarily for the newly displaced or for those who have lost NFIs in flash floods and other events outside of their control.
Shelter Repair assistance so far has reached only 10% of the total reached, in the form of shelter repair kits (full and minor) provided to 111K beneficiaries, largely to returning IDPs in six regions (Afar, Amhara, Benishangul Gumz, SNNP, Somali, and Tigray). However, Shelter Repair now accounts for 32% of the population covered by ongoing activities, demonstrating the cluster’s prioritization of Shelter Repair in areas of returns where homes are damaged and in IDP sites where existing shelters have started to deteriorate. Ongoing Shelter Repair activities are committed to populations in Amhara, Benishangul Gumz, and Tigray.
As with Shelter Repair, Emergency Shelter (ES) assistance also shows a big percentage (41%) of the population covered by ongoing activities compared to only 11% of the population reached through completed activities. The majority of ongoing ES activities are Cash for Rent committed to populations in Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray.
Gaps / challenges
With only 47% of the required funding secured by the end of the 3rd quarter, the cluster faces the challenge of mobilizing and prioritizing limited resources to reach the remaining 55% (1.8M) target population in the last three months of 2023. The cluster has over 60 partners and 45 have so far contributed to the overall response. But many projects and activities are short-lived or one-off resulting in the number of partners actively reporting fluctuating month by month as partners struggle to secure new funds.
Added to the funding constraints are access constraints in some parts of Oromia, Tigray, Amhara, Afar, and Amhara leading to some targeted populations hard to reach.
Limited financial and technology infrastructure to support cash modalities for delivering shelter and NFI assistance are also a challenge but the cluster is coordinating with other clusters and the Cash Working Group to overcome these challenges.
