ACT Ethiopia
Forum members - Christian Aid, DanChurchAid (DCA), Ethiopian
Orthodox Church (EOC), Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane
Yesus (EECMY), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and Norwegian
Church Aid (NCA) - are preparing to respond to floods in Ethiopia.
The response will be implemented mainly through EECMY’s South West
Synod in Omo Valley and EOC in Dira Dawa region.
A Christian Aid
Emergency officer has this past weekend checked on the availability
of non-food items (plastic plates, glasses, cups/mugs, cooking pots
and mosquito nets) and has identified a local supplier. Some funds
for the purchase of these relief items have already been pledged by
ACT members locally.
In order to avoid
duplication of efforts, ACT members are coordinating their response
with the UN OCHA office, and they will issue a joint needs statement
early this week after which aid agencies will be requested to make
their contribution to the overall humanitarian response. UNICEF is
already taking the lead on the distribution of non-food items. The
initial amounts of relief goods proposed to come from the ACT members
are 2000 plastic plates, 1000 cups/tumblers, 2000 mugs, 1000 cooking
pots and 2000 mosquito nets, but these amounts will depend on the
available supply in the Addis markets. EECMY hopes to deliver these
items this week. Distribution may then follow by the end of this week,
subject to the local authorities screening and identifying the needs.
A request for
ACT Rapid Response Funds for Dire Dawa and Omo Valley is expected
when the team consisting of EECMY and EOC/DCAC representatives returns
from Dire Dawa and Omo Valley.
The Omo Valley
floods have already claimed over 364 lives and losses of more than
2700 livestock and 76 granaries, and consequently the needs might
be immense. The Ethiopian government today stepped up evacuation warnings
in low-lying areas as heavy rains threatened to trigger more flash
floods that have already killed more than 600 people and affected
tens of thousands around the country.
