Field reports show greater drought-related need than envisaged

The WFP report also stated that while its separate emergency operation for populations affected by crop failure originally targeted 1.2 million people, donor pledges of almost 60,000 mt of food aid within 60 days of launching its appeal had allowed it to distribute to almost 3 million people. A WFP official told IRIN that while the US $40.5 million drought appeal launched in June was "almost fully resourced", the beneficiary requirements had risen substantially since then and WFP was distributing resources quicker than expected. When new government figures for the affected population became available, the agency would be revising its budget requirement upwards, the official said. Humanitarian sources have also reported that while the overall response to Ethiopia's drought appeal has been positive - with donor pledges allowing rapid distribution of food from the government's National Emergency Food Security Reserve - delivery on the pledges lagged significantly behind.