Poor rains hurting food security

Poor rains and high food prices are likely to lead to increased malnutrition rates in Djibouti, especially among poor urban households and pastoralist communities, an early warning agency has reported.

"No significant rains fell in January throughout Djibouti," the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) stated in an update. "The October to February rains, which replenish pasture and water in coastal areas, have failed so far this season ... pasture [is] depleted in all coastal grazing areas of Djibouti, Tadjourah and Obock."

Noting that the main July to September rainy season had also performed poorly, the February update warned: "Performance of the March to May rains will be critical for pastoralists, but current climatic conditions indicate the coming season may be poor."

It quoted a malnutrition survey conducted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and the Djibouti health ministry in December, which found a global acute malnutrition rate of 16.8 percent - slightly below previous findings.

"This figure still indicates high levels of malnutrition that are above the international World Health Organization thresholds for emergency," the update stated.

It noted chronic food insecurity and food prices that had remained 20 percent above average, limiting food access, especially for poor urban households. "These households face a looming food security crisis as they are already experiencing 10 percent food deficits," the update stated. "Extended feeding programmes in urban areas are urgently needed."

The increase in the cost of the expenditure basket for urban poor households had continued to limit their purchasing power. "An urban food security and livelihood crisis is looming," it noted.

WFP spokesman Peter Smerdon said the government had asked UN agencies to help tackle the impact of the drought and high malnutrition rates in the country.

"WFP was asked to distribute food in rural areas for six months from February for a total of 52,000 vulnerable people," Smerdon told IRIN on 27 February. "WFP needs US$3 million to meet this request."

In pastoral livelihood zones, particularly coastal areas, the situation had also deteriorated. "Pastoralists are cutting branches of acacia trees to feed their herds, which is a coping mechanism during stress periods."

In inland areas, pastoralists’ milk production had declined considerably. "The onset and performance ... of the March to May rains are the main factors that will determine pastoral food security in these areas."

Overall, the update noted, the number of pastoralists requiring food aid was likely to increase, starting in March, from about 47,500 to 55,000, especially in the northwest and southeast border pastoral zones.

Djibouti, with a population of 600,000, is a semi-desert state that experiences frequent droughts and imports all its staple foods. It is classified by the UN as both a least developed and a low-income, food-deficit country.

eo/mw