War limits government’s ability to cope - SCF

Recurrent drought, shrinking farm sizes, reduced employment opportunities and the erosion of community coping strategies have left an increasing number of people vulnerable but certain structural problems worsen the situation considerably. With most major food shipments not due until June, the drop in Ethiopia’s Emergency Food Security Reserve to around 60,000 mt - substantially less than a single month’s distribution - was a serious concern, the SCF report said. In addition, the war with Eritrea had had “a dramatic impact on food security” by diverting trucking capacity and increasing costs; denying access to the Eritrean ports of Massawa and Assab, thus establishing a dangerous over-reliance on Djibouti; and denying rural households their traditional supplementary income sources in Eritrea and western Tigray, SCF added.

There was serious doubt about Ethiopia’s capacity to move the 120,000 mt of food aid per month envisaged this year, particularly if the war - currently in a lull - flares up again, it said.