UNITED NATIONS  DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia

 
Background

After the failure of the short deyr rains in late 1996, the long dry season of jiilaal started earlier than usual (January) creating drought conditions in virtually all parts of the Somali National Regional State. The concern of the Government was reflected by a "Special Appeal" which the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Committee (DPPC) issued on 28 February, alerting the donor community, the UN agencies and NGOs to the deteriorating situation in the pastoral areas. Subsequently a series of inter-agency assessment missions to various parts of Somali Region (as well as to the southern parts of Oromia and Southern Peoples Regional State) were conducted. In Somali Region, two technical Water Review Teams carried out brief missions to selected localities in the north, center and south and a multi-agency team carried out a week-long mission by road in the center and south of the Region. Although in Jijiga and Degehabur Zones the regional administration/DPPB and UNHCR, in co-operation with CARE, had begun water tankering operations in February to serve both worst affected communities and the refugee camps along the "Somaliland" border area, it was felt that another survey in these zones might be useful. Consequently, UNDP-EUE and WFP conducted a joint-field trip by car from 25 March to 1 April and participated also in an aerial survey over the areas along the camp route (Hartisheik, Camoboker, Rabasso, Daror) on the last day of the field visit.

 
Mission Itinerary
 

25 - 27 March:	Jijiga
28 March:	Jijiga - Kebri Beyah - Ararso - Degehabur (incl. Gerbatahan village)
29 March:	Degehabur - Felfel - Aware - Rabasso - Daror
30 March:	Daror - Gashamo - Daror - Rabasso - Camoboker
31 March:	Camoboker - Harshin - Hartisheik - Kebri Beyah - Jijiga
1 April:	Jijiga (and participation in aerial survey along camp route)

 

The Water Situation: Crisis Under Control with Good Rains in Most Areas

The major concern after the failure of the short deyr rains in late 1996 was an extended jiilaal (dry season) with a late start or possible failure of the gu’ main rainy season which normally starts in late March/early April and lasts until late May/early June. As explained in the recent EUE report "Summary of Rainfall Information - Southern Areas of Ethiopia", fortunately the gu’ came on time with some areas of Somali Region receiving rain as early as in the second decade of March. By the time the mission started its field visit (25 March), the rains had covered large areas of the northern part of the region, gradually spreading further east and south. Water sources such as birkas (traditional cisterns), shallow wells and ponds started to be filled up and even seasonal rivers like the Jerer (as seen near Degehabur town) started to flow with water. The mission observed this improving water situation both while driving and during an aerial survey in which all birkas and ponds had water at different levels. Roads, many of them only passable in dry conditions, turned muddy which led to the UNHCR/CARE tankering operations, started on 21 February, literally getting stuck in the mud. However, recently it was decided that both the DPPC operation (35 tanker-trucks throughout the region) and UNHCR/CARE operation (25 tankers along the Aware camp route) would be only temporarily suspended. Operations are planned to resume later for locations such as Daror and possibly surrounding villages in need but are unlikely for Camoboker and Rabasso refugee camps which seem to now enjoy sufficient water. Although water became available in most areas with the recent rains, pocket areas will remain where safe and clean water for human consumption continues to be scarce - particularly where boreholes are not functional, thus justifying the resumption of a limited tankering operation. Indeed at various locations the field mission observed people collecting unsafe, stagnant, surface water from mud puddles along the road. This illustrates the potential danger of waterborne diseases.

Overall, the water crisis appears to be significantly alleviated due to the rains and under control where tankering is taking place. Private entrepreneurs running commercial water tankering in the area saw water prices collapse completely and additional humanitarian tankering capacities (such as those offered by OXFAM) do not currently seem necessary. Despite the timely onset of the rains, the long dry spell had led to critical pasture and livestock conditions, affecting food security and health of the population in this largely livestock dependent nomadic and semi-nomadic society.

Human Health: Enhanced Support Required

In general, the condition of human health was found to be vulnerable in the areas visited. Cases of child malnutrition were seen in Aware and Gashamo and it was reported that the number of malnourished children was abnormally high (compared to the March figures from the last few years). At Aware Health Center, it was reported that two to three new cases of malnourished children have been seen each day for the past five months (Nov. 1996 to Mar. 1997) and that there have been 13 malnutrition-related deaths during this period. It was also reported that many lactating and pregnant women are suffering from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. At Gashamo Health Center, 10 - 12 cases of child malnutrition were recorded during March 1997. The health center staff at Aware and Gashamo indicated that they had no supplementary food items to give to parents of malnourished children and that they were therefore simply providing nutritional advice to them. The cold chains at both centers were functioning and free immunization was being carried out (for polio, dyptheria, BCG, measles). The health centers had good supplies of drugs; however, aside from malaria treatment and oral rehydration solution, all other drugs are dispensed on a cost recovery basis, a situation that prevents the poorer people from availing themselves of curative services.

The team made random visits to households to assess human health conditions and food stocks. The condition of livestock and people around water points and town centers was also observed. While the population is generally under-nourished, the situation is not alarming at present. However, the prospects for improvements in this situation are poor as people’s access to food is severely limited due to the high prices of cereals and (until recently) water and the unavailability of milk. In Aware town, it was reported that one quintal (100 kg) of wheat was selling for ETB 200 and that the price of water was ETB 0.25/liter (this price dropped to Birr 0.1/liter after the rains started around 24 March). Local shops in Aware were largely empty. In Gashamo town, it was reported that in October 1996 one quintal of rice was selling for ETB 260 and one quintal of sorghum for ETB 240; by March 97 the prices of rice and sorghum had risen to ETB 400 and ETB 320 per quintal respectively. The price of water in Gashamo town was reported to be Birr 0.5/liter. The escalation of grain market prices due to the drought appears to be widespread in Region 5.

The Bureau of Health in Jijiga indicated that only about 22% of Region 5’s estimated population of 3 million have access to health facilities, that the immunization coverage is estimated at 10% and that only 1 - 2% of the Region’s population have access to safe drinking water. The Region as a whole has only 46 doctors (i.e. one doctor for every 65,000 people based on the official population figures). Of further concern, the team was informed that there is a measles outbreak in Fik Zone. It was reported that 614 cases were diagnosed during the period 27/1 to 12/3/97, 91 of which resulted in death. The majority of those affected were children under five. It was mentioned that due to the influx of people into Fik town, as a result of the drought, the spreading of measles is a real danger. The Regional Health Bureau in Jijiga also reported that the congregation of people around water points and towns presents an ideal setting for the spread of contagious diseases, including TB and cholera (an outbreak of cholera was reported in Somalia during March). It was also mentioned that the arrival of the rains will trigger diarrheal diseases, malaria and respiratory tract infections, especially given the weakened condition of the people.
 

The Food Situation: Needs Continue

The Regional DPPB officials briefed the team on the amounts of food that have distributed during the last few months. The Region was initially allocated and has already received from the center a total of 4,500 metric tons of sorghum. As of 19/3/97, this amount has been dispatched to the various zones. The Region has also been allocated an additional amount of 6,500 metric tons of cereals and flour. As of 19/3/97, the following amounts (detailed in Annex 1) had been received in the DPPB Jijiga warehouse:
 

Wheat	1,922.75 MT
Sorghum	1,487.50 MT
Wheat Flour	1,000.00 MT

The stock balances in DPPB warehouses, as of 1/4/97, were as follows:
 

Wheat	790.90 MT
Sorghum	972.05 MT
Wheat Flour	177.15 MT
Famex	15.00 MT
Oil	14.70 MT
Biscuits	10.00 MT

 

The team was also informed that Liben and Afder Zones have received 140 metric tons of grain directly from Shashamane and that an additional 61.4 tons of grain, 20 tons of oil and 30 tons of biscuits are presently being sent to these two zones.

In Degehabur, Aware and Misrak Gashamo, the wereda administrations confirmed the receipt of the amounts shown in Annex I. The wereda administrators informed the team that distribution is on-going, with the selection of the beneficiaries being decided by the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Committees (typically comprised of Wereda Administrator, Executive Committee member(s), Head of Police, Military Commander and Deputy, Health Center Head, town elders and religious leaders). Some of the problems highlighted were the lack of funds to pay for storage and lack of transport to move food from wereda headquarters to other villages.

The Wereda Administrations invariably indicated that food assistance is required in the short term, until the livestock recover and resume milk production. However, it is extremely difficult to establish the exact number of people needing food assistance. For example, the numbers shown below, as stated by the various wereda administrators, are not only inconsistent in terms of population numbers, but differ significantly from the DPPC figure of 100,000 people needing assistance for Degehabur Zone as a whole:

722,500 in Degehabur Zone from an estimated total population of 850,000
240,000 in Aware Wereda from an estimated total population of 400,000
350,000 in Gashamo Wereda from an estimated total population of 571,000

 
Livestock: Badly affected

For many animals the rains came too late. The fact that the scarce perennial water sources and the few remaining dry season pasture grounds are wide apart (sometimes 50 to 80 kilometres) resulted not only in emaciation but also in significant numbers of animal deaths. According to local information, average animal death rates hovered around 30 % but these rates differ from place to place. The most detailed estimates of local animal mortality rates the mission obtained were from officials in Gashamo. The breakdown in this district was given as follows: shoats 30 %, cattle 20 %, camels 5%, horses and donkeys 70%, wildlife 50%. The last figure is interesting to note since wildlife (ostrich, gazelle, kudu, dikdik) was mentioned to be an important food source for the local population. 70% of the population of the zone is reported to be dependent upon livestock while the rest are small traders and "urban" dwellers.

The mission observed carcasses of perished livestock in various locations. The largest concentration was seen just at the outskirts of Aware town where, near the football field and the children’s graveyard, the poorest dwellers had to live with the stench of rotten carcasses. Elders of Aware also expressed their concern about desperate human health and livestock conditions in a letter addressed to the mission.

In almost all the visited locations surviving livestock was found to be very weak and emaciated. Gerbatahan, a village just three kilometres out of Degehabur town, counted before the drought 25 camels and some 300 cows. At the time of the visit only two surviving cows and one camel (at the brink of death, unable to get on its feet) were found: the rest had reportedly perished. The villagers, in general not having the cash to buy fodder, just managed to feed maize to three surviving donkeys - this to keep them in good shape in order to use them as pack animals to fetch water and as plough animals to prepare small plots of arable land.

At a full public pond near Gashamo town an emaciated calf was found on the ground, too weak to get on its feet after having increased its body weight disproportionately by drinking too much water at once.

While these examples might be sufficient to illustrate the fact that significant numbers of surviving animals will continue to die even after the onset of rain, it should be noted on the other hand that in some of the visited areas prime grazing grounds - such as the vast grass plain just west of Gashamo ("Haguga") and the wide plain between Harshin and Hartisheik ("Banka Bahlad") - the rains have created favourable conditions for the regeneration of pasture. At the time of the visit young grass had just started to sprout in most areas and it is expected that if favourable conditions persist, it will take one month for the complete replenishment of pasture and at least two months for the recovery of surviving livestock.

Surviving livestock are, as pointed out above, mainly weak and emaciated. They are therefore highly susceptible to all kind of diseases. According to information obtained from the Southeast Rangelands Project (SERP) in Jijiga, Trypanosomiasis is the most common epidemic livestock disease in Somali Region, affecting shoats, cattle and camels. The disease, currently occurring mainly in the Jerer Valley and in the Fik and Segeg areas, appears to be under control through preventive treatment with drugs. The main endemic diseases, generally more likely to affect weak and emaciated animals with low body resistance, are the following:

• Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP - affecting cattle)
• Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP - affecting shoats)
• Anthrax (affecting shoats, cattle, equines and camels)
• Blackleg (affecting cattle)
• Ovine Pasteurellosis (affecting sheep)
• Bovine Pasteurellosis (affecting cattle)

In order to avoid PPR spreading to other areas, Fik Zone was "sealed off" to stop livestock in- and out-migration. PARC sent four mobile assessment, treatment and vaccination teams and SERP has eight teams operating in former East Hararghe sub-region (Fik, Gursum, Harshin etc.). Current capacities permit treatment of and vaccination against PPR on shoats only. Vaccination of cattle, which eventually might be affected as well, is presently not possible. Therefore, at the end of February, representatives of Somali Region’s veterinarians submitted a proposal to the regional Government requesting operational funds for 28 mobile vet-teams. According to SERP, this number would allow a region-wide vaccination campaign covering not only PPR but taking care of other livestock threats as well. Given the importance of livestock to the livelihood of the region’s population, this proposal deserves serious consideration, especially since harsh climatic and environmental conditions (causing recurrent scarcity of water and poor pasture almost every year) impose already severe constraints on the livestock economy.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Of the visited areas, Jijiga Zone seems less affected by the drought than Degehabur Zone. Within Degehabur the worst conditions were found in Aware wereda, where at the capital town’s market most shops were closed because there was nothing to sell. As became evident during earlier field missions in the central and southern parts of Somali Region, relief intervention, particularly food distribution and allocation of supplementary food should be targeted to the most needy families.

To face future water crisis situations, a detailed technical assessment of all available water resources (rivers, ponds, boreholes, deep wells, shallow wells, birkas) is imperative, establishing their conditions (seasonal-perennial, capacity, quality of water, private ownership or free public accessibility etc.). Based on this assessment, a programme of rehabilitation of currently non-operational sources should be implemented, focusing on public water sources. In Aware town for instance, the mission was told that while the boreholes were operational for the last time in 1977 (international calendar!), the existing deep wells are all privately owned. In this town a married couple who had lost three of their four children, all of 150 shoats and all of 60 camels, had received 50 kilograms of relief food, of which they spent 25 kg to pay back outstanding debts. Part of the remaining food (cereals) they used obtain water at privately owned wells. At the time of the household visit, the couple was left with nothing.

On the health side, it is recommended that immunization against measles should be assisted as soon as possible in order to minimize its spread and minimize deaths; a wider spectrum of the essential drugs should be made available free of charge. Furthermore, nutritional surveys should be conducted to ascertain the exact magnitude of the problem and the scope of assistance needed. Supplementary feeding programmes should be administered by the health clinics; this would not only assist in alleviating malnutrition among the under fives but would act as an incentive to draw mothers to clinics so that they might avail themselves of other medical support (immunization, growth monitoring, health and nutrition education, etc.). Contingency measures must be in place to address the expected occurrence of malaria, TB, diarrheal diseases and cholera.

Food needs continue, as pointed out above. The WFP proposed emergency food assistance to Degehabur Zone has been endorsed, with the proposed number of beneficiaries (below) to be periodically reviewed:

Also of critical importance is an improved rangeland management system (e.g. "fodder cut- and-carry" approaches) that might overcome traditional clan and sub-clan boundary difficulties for the benefit of the entire population. One of the crucial factors affecting life of this nomadic society is the market induced, large scale introduction of cattle. For centuries the camel based nomadic society was able to cope with recurrent drought conditions. Camels can go for many days without water while cattle need water every other day. This change to cattle husbandry led to livestock concentration around water resources and the overgrazing of nearby pasture while a large proportion of the population underwent a change from nomadic to semi-nomadic or even (to a more limited extent) sedentary lifestyle. The Somali arid and semi-arid natural environment per se is not suitable for big cattle herds. If, nevertheless, cattle breeding is pursued, a more sophisticated rangeland and water resources management system is required which balances the needs of people and animals against the harsh but fragile environment.

List of Contacts

Id Tahir Farah President, Somali National Regional State
Ahmed Nur H. Abib DPPB Department Director, Somali National Regional State
Dr Hassan Abdi Head, Department of Health, Somali National Regional State
Dr Mohammed Tahir Head, Bureau of Health & Hospital Director, Jijiga Zone
Bashir Barre SERP Deputy General Manager
Dr Ahmed Aidid Mohamoud SERP Chief Veterinarian
Dr. Ismail Mohammed Head, SERP Veterinarian Section, East Hararghe
Gary Campbell UNDP/EUE & UNHCR Technical Consultant
Barrie Freeman UNDP/EUE & UNHCR Logistics & Security Consultant
Tarik Muftic UNHCR Repatriation Officer
Lynn Miller WFP EmergenCy Officer
Mohammed Ahmed Area Coordinator, SCF/UK
Dr. Kim Jakobsen Regional Coordinator, MSF/Belgium
K.S. Nair Project Coordinator, CARE
Adam Ismail Hirsi Administrator, Degehabur Zone
Omar Siad Mohammed Executive Committee Member, Degehabur Zone
Ahmed Adem Administrator, Aware Wereda
Deg Hussein Nurse, Aware Health Center
Basha Musa Administrator, Gashamo Wereda
Abdu Nur Hussein Nurse, Gashamo Health Center
Others: Various Administration Members, Camp Coordinators, Clan Elders, Village Elders and Herdsmen
 

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the UN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.