Dry spell causes food insecurity in northwest

Poor urban households and thousands of pastoralists in northwestern Djibouti will experience food insecurity in the coming months because of the ongoing dry spell, a famine early warning agency said.

The dry spell means the condition of animals in the northwest is not good enough to sell them, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) said in a report released on Friday. In some inland areas, animals are showing signs of stress commonly associated with this time of the year.

Djibouti's northwestern region is highly dependent on livestock for income and food. The current dry spell and poor livestock conditions are already creating household spending deficits of up to 20 percent. Chronic high levels of malnutrition persist in Djibouti.

Poor urban households, which are already unable to cover their minimum food needs, are contending with high staple food prices and paying less attention to their health, water and education needs in a bid to cope.

However, areas that received rains between October and December 2006 are expected to experience only moderate food shortages. These include the coastal grazing areas, and the southern and central pastoral zones, where livestock productivity is satisfactory.

A total of 47,000 poor pastoralists affected by drought in 2006 are currently receiving full-ration food aid under an emergency programme of the United Nations World Food Programme. The programme is expected to end this month. An estimated 27,000-35,000 chronically food insecure pastoralists will require continued food aid, according to FEWS Net.

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