Djibouti Consolidated Appeal Review 2012

Djibouti has now faced six consecutive years of drought and serious rainfall deficit. Although rainfall fluctuations and drought are intrinsic features of the country’s semi-arid climate, the current drought far exceeds normal variation. Since 2007, rainfall has been less than 75% of average, and this has had a direct and life-threatening impact upon the most vulnerable people of Djibouti, particularly pastoralists and rural dwellers. The drought-related humanitarian context in Djibouti is mainly characterized by worsening food insecurity, a situation which culminated in the 2010-2011 drought disaster. Food production from both livestock and crops was extremely poor. Rainfall was not enough to regenerate and produce sufficient pasture for livestock, nor were the rains adequate to replenish water sources. This situation was further compounded by the drastic global rise in staple food prices, which further deteriorated the coping mechanisms of the most vulnerable among Djibouti’s population.
The drought led many rural households to migrate within their region or, principally, towards the capital, Djibouti Ville. Households that could not afford to migrate suffered a loss of 70% to 100% of their livestock. The number of cultivated plots dropped sharply in the last four years of drought. Increased rural-urban migration has now concentrated 70.6% of the population in urban areas, including 58% in the capital. This drought-induced rural to urban migration has led to an increase in settlements around the cities. Most of the urban households affected by malnutrition and water-borne diseases are from these areas. The continued significant influx of refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia into Djibouti in 2010 and 2011 has also affected the country and led to a significant increase of humanitarian needs in both rural and urban areas.
This overall situation was itself the impetus of the 2010-2011 Drought Appeal, which this Consolidated Appeal now replaces. A total of 206,000 vulnerable people have been identified in Djibouti as now being affected by the drought and its impact, and have been targeted for the emergency humanitarian assistance programmes in this Appeal. This figure includes 120,000 rural people, 60,000 urban poor, and 26,000 refugees, and is a very substantial increase of 85% compared to the 120,000 people targeted in the 2010-2011 Drought Appeal. (A planning figure of 16,400 migrants is not included in the overall total.)