CERF allocates $3 million to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable groups and refugees in Djibouti.
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A child receiving a vaccination in Djibouti.
[Photo: IRIN] |
22 September 2008: Drought and high food prices are threatening thousands of food insecure people in Djibouti. CERF is injecting badly needed emergency funding into Djibouti to help mitigate the impact caused by loss of crops and decreased access to basic food. The CERF is also supporting UN efforts aimed at providing protection and multi-sectoral assistance to the growing number of refugees entering from neighbouring countries.
CERF funds are supporting the World Food Programme’s (WFP) effort to distribute food assistance to 80,000 people in rural areas. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is also assisting people with agricultural livelihoods through CERF-sponsored “cash grants” to ensure that they have access to food.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is using CERF funds to help pastoralists maintain the livestock they are dependent on for food. It is supplying grazing land, water pumps, and other ranching supplies to ensure that 85,000 people can continue to benefit from the milk and other food that comes from their livestock.
In addition, thousands of asylum seekers from Southern and Central Somalia have sought refuge in Djibouti and many are living under extremely harsh conditions in refugee camps near the border. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is using CERF resources to provide shelter assistance to 12,000 Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali refugees living in the Ali-Addeh camp. Furthermore, existing water infrastructure is being rehabilitated in order to provide clean drinking water to camp refugees.
[Last Update: 26 September 2008]
CERF allocates US$ 2.6 million for humanitarian assistance to drought affected people in Djibouti
28 February: Recurrent droughts have plagued Djibouti for the past decade. Another drought year has left many people in need of life-saving assistance especially in rural areas. Furthermore, a high risk of communicable disease, especially in children is further exacerbating the situation. Alarming rates of malnutrition have triggered the need for urgent food assistance, safe water supplies, and sanitation and hygiene interventions to ensure that the communicable diseases do not spread. The UN Team is jointly working in the rural areas of Djibouti giving priority to the most food insecure areas.
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Villagers fill jerrycans with water provided by UNICEF and partners
[Photo: UNICEF] |
A CERF funded World Food Programme (WFP) project is providing food assistance to 55,000 drought victims affected with high malnutrition rates. In support of WFP, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is also using CERF funding to improve the screening of malnutrition throughout health facilities, and at the community level using mobile units and trained community workers. Therapeutic milk and drugs and feeding centre materials are being provided through the project while health and community workers are trained to better screen for malnutrition. UNICEF is utilizing another CERF grant to ensure potable water for 17,500 people in chronically water scarce areas by deepening and sanitary sealing wells while providing hand pumps.
CERF funds are also allowing the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the number of deaths associated with malnutrition through health services support. WHO is supporting mobile clinics with logistics support, outreach activities and supervising mobile clinic teams. Community-based early detection is being strengthened to help those with life threatening disease, particularly acute diarrhoea and malnourishment.
A CERF grant is supporting the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to boost the agro-pastoral sites. In earlier agro-pastoral projects fodder allowed the pastoralists to raise goats which in turn would provide milk to the families. The current malnutrition crisis asks for a production increase of fruit, vegetables and goat milk. The current project activities include the distribution of food supplements enriched with proteins and vitamins and the planting of hedges to augment the goat milk production. FAO is also providing seeds to grow vegetables and fruit. The programme is targeting an estimated 130,000 vulnerable individuals.
[Last Update: 6 March 2008]