The Government of Ethiopia and humanitarian partners have jointly released a Call for Anticipatory Action ahead of a new major La Niña-driven drought in the southern and southeastern lowlands of Ethiopia, to enable early interventions to protect communities before the full impact of the projected drought. At least US$550 million is urgently required for preparatory measures to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis, such as rehabilitating water structures, providing multipurpose cash transfers and early warning messages.
"We must act early to save lives," said Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Ethiopia. "Investing in anticipatory action not only mitigates the drought's impact on people's lives and livelihoods, but it also prevents the costs of emergency response from escalating."
The United Nations has already allocated US$17 million to support anticipatory actions -$10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund - (CERF) and $7 million for the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF).
"We hope that CERF and EHF commitments and similar allocations made by agencies from internal resources will catalyze broader action to help communities before it's too late.", said Dr. Alakbarov.
"This is an imminent crisis made worse by the continuing impact of global climate change. Whilst efforts by the Government to strengthen national response systems and develop the resilience of communities continue, we count on international solidarity to assist us with early investments now, to ensure that lives are saved and resilience is further built, to adapt to the increasing regularity and intensity of climate shocks" said Ambassador Shiferaw Teklemariam, Commissioner of the Ethiopia Disaster Risk Management Commission.
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An estimated 19 million people live in areas forecast to be at risk of drought conditions during the October-December 2024 rainy season, many of whom are still recovering from the devastating 2020-2022 drought--the worst in the Horn of Africa's recent history. Over 5 million people are projected to be already acutely food insecure in the last quarter of 2024. Evidence from past droughts in Ethiopia highlights the critical role of early intervention, as delayed or insufficient responses have often led to severe deteriorations in food insecurity, malnutrition and overall well-being. FAO research has found that for every $1 invested in anticipatory action, households gain as much as $7 in benefits and loss protection.
Donors are called on to urgently mobilize new support aligned with this Call for Anticipatory Action.
