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UNICEF relief activities
- Funding Appeal: In January 2000, UNICEF appealed to international
donors for US
$7.7 million to provide emergency relief to drought-affected areas. Health
and nutrition relief constituted the majority of the appeal, followed by
water and sanitation and emergency education initiatives.
- Donor Response: As of May 1, about half of the appeal target had
been met, but the slow arrival of funding has hindered relief efforts. In
February, UNICEF headquarters in New York released $1.5 million in emergency
funds to jump-start crucial relief activities. This is in addition to the
$16 million UNICEF Ethiopia plans to spend this year in support of ongoing
health and water initiatives.
- Water Actions: UNICEF's ongoing development work in the water sector
has helped mitigate the impact of the drought. In the 15 years since the
1984-85 drought, for example, UNICEF has spent some $50 million on water
projects in Ethiopia. These funds have led to at least 2,000 new or upgraded
water schemes throughout the country and supported the repair and rehabilitation
of hundreds more. Up to a million people have been given access to safe
water as a result.
As part of its relief efforts, UNICEF is supplying national and local authorities
with needed supplies, funds and technical expertise to carry out emergency
repairs on 63 wells and water systems throughout the hardest hit areas.
The funds are being used to purchase spare parts and to field teams of repair
workers. An additional 20 projects await funding. UNICEF is also funding
water tankering in six of the hardest hit areas.
UNICEF is also supplying water purification chemicals to make drinking
water safe, and has distributed 5,000 jerry cans to help families save water
and use it efficiently.
- Health Actions: UNICEF's ongoing activities are also vital to the
health sector: Every year, virtually all of Ethiopia's stock of essential
vaccines is purchased and delivered by UNICEF. Moreover, the national and
regional systems put in place to support the National Immunisation Days
funded by UNICEF provide a crucial infrastructure for mounting emergency
vaccination drives to fight outbreaks of disease.
In addition, UNICEF has made hundreds of thousands of sachets of Oral Rehydration
Salts available for pre-positioning by the government, along with IV fluids.
These will help treat cases of diarrhea. Essential drugs to combat other
diseases are being procured by UNICEF and will also be shipped in for pre-positioning.
- Operations in Gode: The benefits of UNICEF's ongoing health and
water efforts are visible in Gode, where the government and local and international
NGOs have established therapeutic and supplemental feeding shelters for
malnourished children and their mothers. A steady supply of water is available
to these sites because UNICEF funded a substantial upgrade at the existing
pumping station three years ago, more than doubling its capacity and making
the water cleaner. Further, the essential drugs and medical equipment being
used to vaccinate children at these emergency feeding sites was available
in regional storage hubs thanks to ongoing purchases by UNICEF.
In addition to making Gode a viable relief centre through its ongoing activities,
a UNICEF field doctor is providing technical support and guidance on the
ground. Her knowledge of Ethiopia, her experience in droughts, and her familiarity
with local officials have helped the relief effort immeasurably. In April
alone, she provided training to 40 local health workers in the management
and special care of malnourished children. She is also providing hygiene
training to mothers and community leaders to enable them to help prevent
the spread of illness.
Also in Gode, UNICEF has fielded a water specialist to work with local
and national officials in carrying out emergency water assessments and to
ensure that water supply schemes are maintained and maximised during the
crisis.
- Emergency Staff Deployments: Based on its success in Gode, UNICEF
is preparing to field several additional public health teams throughout
the most affected areas. As in Gode, these UNICEF teams will arrive with
a UNICEF vehicle and communications equipment, enabling them to continuously
assess and report on emerging needs.
UNICEF-supplied relief items
In addition to ongoing and emergency funding for health and water interventions,
UNICEF has contributed much-needed relief supplies. These include:
- Thirty metric tons of high energy biscuits for 2,000 malnourished children
in the Gode area. An additional 54 metric tons have arrived at port.
- More than thirty 5,000 and 10,000-litre community water tanks to ensure
a safe and clean supply of water in the driest communities in the southeast
and south, along with 5,000 jerry cans for families.
- More than half a million sachets of oral rehydration salts and tonnes
of chlorination chemicals for distribution by the government throughout
the affected regions.
- Measles and vitamin-A vaccines, as well as the cold-chain equipment needed
to keep them fresh. Essential drugs for malnourished and sick children and
women have been delivered to Gode and additional large quantities are being
sent from the UNICEF warehouse in Copenhagen.
- 5,000 blankets for use at therapeutic feeding sites and medical centres
in targeted areas of the Somali and Tigray regions.
Return to 'Ethiopia: The hardest hit'
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