KEY HIGHLIGHTS
• The persistent drought in the lowland areas of Ethiopia has increased the vulnerability of the population prompting the government to revise the number of people requiring emergency food aid from 5.6 million to 7.7 million.
• The Government of Ethiopia has declared an outbreak of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) in Somali region and fears it could spread to other drought affected regions. The Ministry of Health has called for increased engagement of humanitarian partners to stem the situation.
• Infestation of crops by armyworms has been reported with significant damage to crops in southern Ethiopia. The Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources reports that nearly 10,700 hectares of farmland in Oromia and SNNP regions have been damaged.
• Limited funding is hampering World Vision Ethiopia’s response capacity at a time when the food security situation is deteriorating and incidences of disease outbreaks are increasing in several drought affected areas of the country.
• World Vision has so far received 59% of the 21 million US dollars requested for hunger crisis. Further funding is required to continue meeting the needs of 716,000 people targeted for humanitarian assistance.