Ethiopia

Background

Ethiopia is a country of 1,104,300 square kilometers and 99 million inhabitants. 30% of the population live below the poverty threshold, despite several years of steady economic growth. The infant mortality rate is 44 deaths per 1.000 births

Ethiopia is currently in a state of humanitarian emergency. The country is seriously affected by climate change, and farmers and pastoralists struggle to recover from an El Niño-induced drought.

Whereas 80% of the inhabitants rely on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods, Ethiopia has just experienced ist worst agricultural season in decades. Consequently, 5.6 million people are in a situation of food insecurity, as reported by the FAO.

Our projects take place in the Somali Region, where the forecasts indicate, that new droughts are emerging. A combination of factors account for the precarious situation of this area.

• On the one hand, extreme weather patterns contribute to rangeland degradation; however, rangelands are crucial during the dry season.
• On the other hand, migration of nomads from neighboring zones lead to an increasing population pressure and the deterioration of living conditions.

Under these difficult circumstances, a lack of proper veterinarian care can rapidly lead to the spread of livestock diseases, which have direct consequences on the pastoralists who are dependent on healthy animals.

The activity of VSF-Suisse in Ethiopia consists, among other things, in providing livestock to the populations in need and strengthening animal healthcare, but also in securing the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people in order to enhance their capacities of resilience.