Ethiopia : Borana pastoralist has completely lost their livestock to prolonged drought and over 800,000 people are in need of emergency relief

Borena Zone in southern Oromiya is an important pastoralist area of Ethiopia known to be very vulnerable to drought. Historically, dry spells have been common in this border area and longer periods of drought occur on the average once in a decade. While people have learned to cope with the normal cycle of dry periods, drought conditions that last for two and more years have at times inflicted heavy losses on humans and livestock.

United Nations Agency recommended scaling UP water rationing in the Borena zone and coordinated early intervention from all humanitarian actors .The Borena zone in the Oromia region of Ethiopia is facing one of the deadliest droughts the region has not seen for years and over 800,000 residents in the region are facing famine. Although not unforeseen, the development has shocked Ethiopians. Many on social media have been sharing heartrending  pictures from the borena zone drought situation. 

The earth’s climate has been changing from time to time due to various anthropogenic and natural factors. Raise in global temperature, sea level rise, and increased fossil fuel consumption has been increasing global risks of consequences of climate change globally. With climatic conditions of increased dryness, temperature surges, and lack of rainfall for a long period, recently greater Horn of Africa has been experiencing serious impacts of prolonged drought, according to a recent UN OCHA report. 

“Across the Horn of Africa, at least 36.1 million people have been affected by the drought including 24.1 million in Ethiopia, 7.8 million in Somalia, and 4.2 million in Kenya.At least 20.5 million people are already waking each day to high levels of acute food insecurity and this figure could increase to between 23 and 26 million by February 2023,” the report says.

In 2023 these numbers are feared to increase and the drought is currently affecting the entire horn of Africa severely. In Ethiopia, drought has affected livestock production and the livelihoods of the pastoralists resulting in heavy economic loss. Though many areas of Ethiopian pastoralist have been affected by this devastating impact of drought, Borana pastoralist areas are the worst affected. 

Though Borana drylands have a long history with routinely occurring drought consequences, currently the severity, length, and frequency of drought have been changing. The damage and losses incurred due to the recent drought by Borana pastoralists are never seen before in history.

According to unpublished Borena Zone Multi-Agency Rapid Assessment Report the absence of five consecutive seasons of rainfall resulted in prolonged drought in the area. Borana area receives a bimodal pattern of rainfall with the main rains (Ganna) falling between March and May, and the short rains (Hagayya) between September and November. The recent drought is due to the failure of rain for three years.

Lack of rain for three years increased earth’s surface temperature and dryness, which resulted in a critical shortage of pasture and water that lead to the emaciation of livestock and massive deaths of livestock particularly cattle, which is the main livelihood asset of the community. Not only is the productivity of livestock affected, but also the production of agro-pastoralist communities that practice farming beside livestock. These three years have been years of suffering for Borana pastoralists.

People in the region are mostly pastoralists and depend on animals for livelihood. While the region is dependent on rain for water, it has not received one for the past three years. 

FBC, state-owned media, cited authorities from the zone as saying that over 3.3 million livestock died because of the drought.  The report has also confirmed that over 800,000 people are on the verge of facing famine.  It is unclear if the drought has claimed human lives at this point. 

Thousands have already been displaced and sheltered in the Dubluk center. The FBC report said that it has observed the severe conditions of those in the center. Over 600,000 people have been getting aid in connection with the drought situation, state  media claimed. 

As many as 263,136 people need emergency food aid, according to EBC report. 

There have been reports of government efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the region but they are said to be inadequate given the magnitude of the problem. 

If the region is not getting any rain this year, the disaster-like situation is expected to worsen.  

There are predictions that the drought could be far worse than the one that happened in Somalia more than ten years ago which claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people.

Among the recommendations by OCHC services, as published on Relief Web, “Early response and intervention is expected from all humanitarian actors, Disaster Response Management offices (DRM), national and local government to save lives of drought affected older people, people with disability and their families.”

It also recommended continued water rationing and rehabilitating water sources to address the demand for water – among other things.