Ethiopia

In 2022 Ethiopia faced multiple overlapping humanitarian crises, putting at risk the lives and livelihoods of millions of people and driving continued high and urgent needs for humanitarian support. Although the end of 2022 brought peace and improved access in Northern Ethiopia (Afar, Amhara, and Tigray) with the signing of the cessation of hostilities agreement, humanitarian needs stemming from a two-year conflict are still high, where a large number of people are still in displacement across the Tigray region.

Furthermore, the conflict has continued or escalated in other parts of the country, most notably in Oromia, impeding humanitarian access and driving high needs and displacement within the region and to the neighboring Amhara region. Ethiopia is highly vulnerable to climatic shocks and is one of the most drought-prone countries in the world. The severe drought that began in late 2020 has continued into 2023 with the passing of five poor to failed rainy seasons. The 2023 ‘’belg/gu/genna’’ season (March-May) went against an initial forecast of normal to below normal rainfall and instead brought heavy rains and resulting floods to drought and conflict-affected areas of Somali, Oromia, SNNP, and Afar regions. 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. In 2023 the Cluster will target 3,903,407 people, comprising 1,048,993 men, 1,120,862 women, 845,395 boys, 888,157 girls, and 529’248 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. 1.1M people have been targeted with ESNFI kits, 1.5M with NFI kits, 1.4M with Emergency Shelter assistance, and 604K with repair kits across the country, of which 234K, 376K, 59K, and 57K have been reached, respectively.