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Humanitarian Crisis
In Degahbur
April 2005
Wafa Relief has received an assessment report from OWDA about
the Humanitarian Situation crisis occurring in Degahbur in
Somalia Region- Ethiopia. The report is written as a conclusion
of a team visit to the area.
The team started its journey from Degahbur town to Bulale. On
their way to Bulale, they found wonen and children on the road,
about 35 in number, traveling on foot towards Bulale. They
stopped the car and talked to the women. The women told them
that they ran out of food where they were and are going to
Bulale to find food.
When the team reached Bulale, they found about 150 women and
children, who said were from the Gunagado IDPs, who also came to
Bulale to look for food. The women said, they did not have food
for seven days, and are starving and they did not have money to
buy food. Mr. Mohamed, the OWDA team leader, gave them one
hundred Birr for them to buy a sack of grain and advised them to
walk back to Gunagado.
The team went on to Gunagado and found a real Humanitarian
crisis there. There absolutely was no food of any kind either
for the IDPs or for the local Gunagado people. The locals shared
what little they had with the IDPs and exhausted all they had.
Although I have not seen dead bodies, the talk of the town was
people will die of hunger. I overheard a group of people talking
and one of them saying, “I am sure somebody will die of hunger
tonight.” I stopped to talk to them and they told me a story.
A family of seven, with five kids, was starving and had only one
Goat left of their livestock, which itself was also starving.
The family decided to kill the Goat for food. As soon as the
family finished eating the Goat, they all fell sick and
contracted severe deiahrea simultaneously. The whole family they
said is lying helpless at a near by shack.
Despite the hunger crisis, OWDA’s Water tankering at Gunagado
funded by UNICEF was going well with the tankers working 24
hours a day, at least people have drinking water for now.
The team proceeded to Adadlayow, where it rained a little on
late February, but not enough to quench the livestock and people
thirst in the area. The people who followed the rain were also
there scattered in a 20 – 40 km area, also very thirsty and
starving. Although the tankers were working over time to get
water to everybody in the area, people not believing the tanker
will come, will move and sit around at the tanker route not to
miss it.
The team’s next stop was Ballisaredo about 50 kms from Adadlayow.
We found a lot of people starving and without water. Livestock,
including cows, sheep, goat, and the donkeys, were either dead,
or dying by the minute. Those not yet dead were on the ground
unable to move. We found men, women and children frantically
getting out of the place, not knowing where they were heading.
When asked where they were going, they said, they just wanted to
get out of there. Others lost all hope, gave up and just sat
around waiting for death to come.
The situation at Ballisaredo was so desperate that, we decided
to try to save at least some of the people and went to Farmadow
to find food and water for them. We brought back a water tanker
from farmadow, but could not find any food there. We traveled
about 200 kms to Dig and Aware area to find food for these
people. But again, we could not find food in that area at all,
and traveled back to Bulale in Degahbur district to find at
least some food for the people at Ballisaredo. Fortunately for
all concerned, we found five sacks of wheat, two sacks of oats,
and two cans of oil at Bulale, and rushed those back to
Ballisaredo. People told us that, all the pastoral people in the
area were suffering the same fate and people are dying for lack
of food.
We went on to Bodhley, about 20 kms from Ballisaredo, and found
the same desperate need for food. We found the people at
Boodhley in a single file for water brought by the water tanker
the day before. People at Boodhley may have little water, but
the food situation was desperate, and the livestock like at
Ballisaredo, were dying in record numbers.
The team went on to Farmadow, Weylo-laguhidh, and on to Dig. The
food situation in those areas was also as desperate as the other
areas above, but have access to little water. Livestock is
suffering the same fate though, and is dying record numbers. Due
to the failure of the last rainy season, the Gu, pasture in
Degahbur and Fik zones was scarce. Cattle, goat sheep, and
donkeys are those animals affected most. The camels early on
sailed on to Gode, Korahey, and Babile for pasture.
The team traveled on to Aware through Bukudhabo, kore, gurdumi,
and other kebeles, and found the food situation desperate, like
in most of the kebeles in Aware and Degahbur districts. There is
a dire need for food and water in the whole area. The town of
Aware is little better in food than most areas, but despite the
on going water tankering, Aware needs more water than most
places.
Lack of water is echoed around all Aware district. I have been
told by the Aware district Administration, the body of a man
believed to have died of thirst was found on the road at the
outskirt of Aware town. The administration also wrote an
official letter to DPPB informing them that seven people have
died of thirst so far in Aware district.
The team returned to Degahbur and traveled towards Garbo road
through several other kebeles, called Mindhi-ir, Is-dabadag, and
others, and found them all in the same disasterous situation as
in the other kebeles in regards to food and water availability
in the area. We found pregnant women, children, and nursing
mothers, all swollen up for lack of nutrition and sanitation.
People and livestock are simply dying of thirst and hunger.
The team went on to Hurale and Sasabane areas. The food and
water situation was also bad but little better than most areas
previously seen and the people have not enough but had some food
and water. Birkod is in dire need of food but has plenty of
water.
The team traveled on to Jijiga through Obole, Ararso and other
kebeles and found the food and water situation a little better
than that of Degahbur Zone. The pasture situation is almost the
same throughout the Region.
Why is Food insecurity different this Jilaal?
The scarcity of food and water this year is different from the
previous ones due to the following Reasons
The Somali region had several permanent sources of food which
recently became all unavailable at the same time.
• No Local production and livestock due to two consecutive
seasons of poor rains
• Disruption of Food from Somalia cross border
• Dallied Relief Food Distribution
The local food production was scarce, because last year’s rainy
season (the Gu and Dayr) failed, and there were no enough
pasture for livestock, and no crops were grown last year for
food.
Secondly, due to unforeseen circumstances, all commercial
activities around the border between Somalia and Ethiopia were
recently suspended and food could not be obtained from Somalia.
The last, but not least, the regular relief food Distribution
did not distributed for Degahbur, Fik, Wardher, Korahey, and
Gode Zones for the last three months.
Findings
The team found the following situation on the ground in Degahbur
Zone:
• Livestock, particularly cattle, goats, Sheep, and donkeys are
dying in record numbers in Degahbur Zone
• People have died of thirst and hunger in Degahbur Zone per the
official letter from Aware district to DPPB.
• Emergency food assistance is desperately needed throughout
Degahbur Zone
• More water tinkering before the Gu rains is an absolute
necessity and food assistance is necessary even after the Gu
rain come.
Recommended Action
Owda recommends the following actions taken immediately in the
priority listed below:
1. Immediate food aid dispatch to Degahbur Zone
2. Immediate deployment of more water tankers
3. Emergency mobile health service to impact area.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Owda, would like to bring the National &
International agencies, and the Federal and Regional
government’s attention, to the disastrous Humanitarian food and
water situation currently insuing in the Degahbur Zone of the
Somali Region of Ethiopia, and would like to appeal for an
immediate intervention to remedy the situation before a massive
Human death toll starts. If the situation is not intervened
today, there will be nobody to rescue tomorrow!!
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