U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
Cyclical droughts, exacerbated by a rapidly growing population and limited government capacity, have led to chronic food insecurity and water shortages in Ethiopia. Major drought and famine episodes in 1984/1985, 1993 to 1999, 2002/2003, and 2005 have rendered several areas of Ethiopia increasingly vulnerable to emergencies, while the cumulative effects of multiple crises have exhausted many household coping mechanisms. The recent repeated failure of the short rains has adversely affected crop production and resulted in significant livestock losses due to severe shortages of water and pasture.
Since the 2002/2003 emergency, USAID/OFDA has adopted a more comprehensive approach to saving lives and alleviating human suffering in Ethiopia, focusing on livelihood interventions that complement emergency assistance, while promoting economic resilience and diverse strategies to break the cycle of famine and poverty. In a shift towards more sustainable solutions to address recurrent emergency problems, USAID/OFDA assists vulnerable families in undertaking a variety of activities to enhance coping mechanisms at the household level to improve food security. Current USAID/OFDA interventions, including cash-for-work programs, livestock health activities, and livelihoods fairs, meet immediate emergency needs while helping to develop household and community assets for the longterm benefit of drought-affected regions-energizing local markets and yielding more lasting solutions to Ethiopia's complex challenges.
However, communities in Ethiopia remain vulnerable due to endemic poverty, chronic malnutrition, high cereal prices, limited access to water and pasture, conflict, localized agricultural failure, and other shocks. Approximately 8 million chronically food-insecure people receive support through cash and food transfers from the Government of Ethiopia's (GOE) Productive Safety Net Program. In April 2008, the GOE, the U.N., and humanitarian partners launched an appeal for $67.7 million for Ethiopia, requesting emergency assistance for approximately 2.2 million people.