Ethiopia

WFP is currently providing emergency food assistance to 3.3 million people in the Somali region – the epicentre of the drought. Recipients of assistance include vulnerable pastoralist communities who have lost a significant number of livestock—their main source of income and nutrition.

WFP is a major partner in Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), which assists 1.6 million people in rural areas to create community assets. The programme provides food and cash to vulnerable people during the lean season in exchange for work in managing natural resources and creating basic social infrastructures such as roads, schools and clinics.

Through the Purchase for Progress programme, WFP buys food for its programmes from local smallholder farmers. The initiative cut costs, gives a boost to the local economy and helps strengthen smallholder farmers’ capacities in management and marketing.

WFP provides nutrition assistance, particularly in emergency settings, to 1.6 million vulnerable people, including pregnant women, nursing mothers, children under 5 and orphans. We also work to prevent stunting through our Fresh Food Vouchers, which help children to eat a diverse and healthy diet.

WFP's Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) unit has developed early warning tools to improve food security and assist the Government's shift towards proactive disaster risk management. VAM has released findings for the first Food Security Monitoring Survey for 2017.

WFP currently assists 600,000 refugees from Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. Together with ARRA (the Government’s Administration for Refugees and Returnee Affairs), we distribute high energy biscuits at entry points and provide a monthly food ration of cereals, pulses, Super Cereal, iodized salt and vegetable oil. We also support selected refugee households with livelihood activities such as vegetable gardening and poultry farming. Along with ARRA and UNHCR, we are implementing biometric verification to ensure that our assistance is cost-efficient and goes to those who need it the most.

WFP works with the Government on logistic capacity-building activities. For instance, we help Ethiopia boost its emergency logistics preparedness through establishing humanitarian staging areas, supporting the Ethiopian Maritime Affairs Authority to reduce port congestion, and strengthening the road transport sector in cooperation with Federal Road Transport Authority.

WFP works with the Government and local partners to improve nutrition and promote education for Ethiopian school children. By providing nutritious meals, WFP supports nearly 400,000 school children living in the Afar, Oromia, SNNPR and Somali regions of Ethiopia.