Pastoralists hardest hit by continuing drought

Up to 150,000 people, mainly pastoralists, are threatened by a continuing drought that has degraded pastures and dried up watering points across Djibouti, a government official said. Increased livestock deaths in various communities had prompted the government and aid agencies to begin a rapid assessment of the situation, said Mohamed Ali, the focal point officer for disasters in the ministry of interior, on Monday. A detailed report would be produced after the assessment, he added. Some affected populations had started to move from their villages to the outskirts of Djiboutiville, the capital city of the tiny Horn of Africa country of 700,000. According to a January food security update by the Famine Early Warning System (FEWS Net), the drought had affected between 70,000 and 150,000 people. The situation was particularly dire in the northwest pastoral zone, the central pastoral lowland and highland sub-zones, the border and roadside sub-zones and the market gardening zone. FEWS Net reported significant water shortages across the country and said delivery of water using tanks was urgently required in some areas. Staple food prices had risen from 25 percent to 30 percent across the pastoral zones. Normal coping mechanisms had been exhausted, it added. Irregular migration, high livestock mortality, rural exodus to urban centres and concentration at permanent water points indicated a deteriorating situation. "Both humans and livestock face serious water shortages in all zones; particularly vulnerable are those who depend on water harvesting," the update said.