The world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide by World Food Programme (WFP) 1:21am 17th Apr, 2012   Djibouti: Emergency Food Security Assessment in Rural Areas, July 2012    Executive summary    For the fourth consecutive year, WFP conducted an emergency food security assessment (EFSA) in the rural areas of Djibouti. The objective is to check the food security situation as this year again rainfall has been insufficient further to six consecutive years of drought and as food prices which never returned to their 2007 pre-crisis levels remain high.    What is the food security situation?    The food security situation of rural households remains critical. About 42,600 people are food insecure representing 49% of households and 24,300 people are moderately food insecure representing 28% of households.Only 23% of households are food secure.    Three quarters of households have a poor or borderline food consumption which consists mainly in cereals, oil and sugar, complemented by some pulses, vegetables, milk and meat (once a week) for the moderately food insecure households.    In addition, the situation of malnutrition is serious for women (aged between 15 and 49 years) with 14,3% of them wasted. The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate for children aged between 6 and 11 months is 24,2% and indicates a critical situation. The GAM rate for children aged between 12 and 23 months is 12,7% and indicates a serious situation.During the week prior to the survey, 60% of households experienced times when they did not have enough money to buy food. The percentage is high even amongst food secure households (almost 40%).    To cope with the lack of food and money, households resort to strategies that endanger their livelihoods. Indeed, 25% of households sold productive assets/ animals during the seven days prior to the survey. About 20% of severely food insecure households and 13% of moderately food insecure households sold reproductive livestock (females) during the year.    How has the situation evolved compared to last year?    The food security situation has deteriorated compared to 2011. Firstly, households’ food consumption has significantly deteriorated. This year, more than 70% of households have a poor or borderline food consumption compared to 57% last year.    Secondly, the percentage of households who depend on aid (food aid and family and relative‘s gift) increased from 11% in 2011 to 20% in 2012. Thirdly an important proportion of households (24%) abnormally sold livestock in 2012 (compared to 10,5% last year). In 78% of cases, they did it to buy food.    About 58% of households estimated that their income level is lower than last year.    In addition, households seek to increase their income and to diversify their income sources even if this mean having non sustainable income sources. The number of households who have two income sources increased (from 24% in 2011 to 40,6% in 2012).    What are the causes of food insecurity?    Households live in chronic poverty which is exacerbated by the lack of work opportunities, high food prices which never returned to their 2007 pre-crisis levels and a recurring drought which prevents the renewal of pasture and decimates herds.    Households live in a state of utter destitution. They have a very low income level and 35% of their income sources are not sustainable (aid, sale of coal and firewood, remittances). Their level of expenses is very low with an average of 119 Djiboutian francs (0,66 dollar) per person and per day; three quarters of those being devoted to food purchases. They have few assets (between 3 and 5).    Water access is difficult. Almost half of the population has not even access to 15 liters of water per person and per day, a necessary minimum set by humanitarian standards.    Herds – amounting in average to three tropical livestock units (TLU) per households – cannot ensure households’ food security. Fifteen TLUs per households would be needed.    High aid dependency    Aid (food aid and gift from family and relatives) are an essential income source for a significant proportion of households independently of their food security status or their activities. About 20% of households have aid and gifts as their main source of income. In addition, food aid and gifts are the main source of food of 40% of households. Without aid, an important part of the population would have no means to feed itself and survive.    Where are the food insecure households?    Ali Sabieh is the region is the highest rate of severely food insecure households (77%) followed by the Obock region (55%). The regions of Tadjourah, Dikhil et Arta also have high rates of severe food insecurity, respectively of 47,5%, 39,1% and 29,4%. In addition, in these regions, about one third of households are moderately food insecure. In the Obock region, the rate is 27,4% and in the Ali Sabieh one 13,7%.    April 2012    Sahel Crisis    For the third time in a decade, drought in the Sahel region of Africa is threatening millions of people with hunger. But how do people survive in these situations and what are we doing to help them? Here are the answers to eight questions about the current hunger crisis in the Sahel and WFP"s response to it.    Why are people going hungry in the Sahel?    The rains only come once per year in the African Sahel and last year, they were patchy and late. That’s a recipe for disaster in a part of the world where most people live on what they can grow. When the rains don’t come on time, harvests fail, animals die and people start going hungry.    Which countries have been hit by the drought?    The drought is affecting a huge swathe of territory that covers parts of Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Gambia, Cameroon and northern Nigeria.    In addition to drought, what other factors have led to a food crisis in the Sahel?    Bad harvests this year have driven up the price of food at a time of year when it’s usually more affordable. High fuel costs and pest infestations haven’t helped.    The humanitarian needs in the Sahel region of West Africa are huge and the time for action is now. WFP and partners have launched a regional response to reach up to 10 million people with food assistance.    WFP plans to provide special food assistance to 1.45 million of the children most in need, to prevent malnutrition.    How do small farmers survive when they don’t grow enough food?    During hard times, families will often sell land or animals in order to buy food. That’s called a “negative coping strategy” because it leaves them poorer and more likely to go hungry in the long-term. When they run out of things to sell, families have little choice but to move to the cities or abroad in search of work.    Are droughts common in the Sahel?    Yes and they’re becoming even more common with climate change. This is the third drought to hit the Sahel in less than a decade. Particularly in Niger, many families haven’t yet fully recovered from the last drought in 2010 and have even less to fall back on now than they did then.    How is the situation in the Sahel this year different from droughts in the past?    Whereas droughts in 2005 and 2010 were felt most in Niger and parts of Chad, the food crisis this year is unfolding across the entire region, from Chad in the east all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, food prices in the region are much higher than they were in 2010.    If this crisis is different, how is WFP responding differently?    In countries like Niger where food markets are holding up, WFP is providing hungry people with vouchers and cash that they can use to buy food at local markets. This helps the local economy and gives people a greater variety of food to choose from. WFP will also be buying much of the food it distributes from countries near to the Sahel, to cut down on the amount of time it takes to get to the people who need it.    How can we prevent droughts in the Sahel from causing food crises in the future?    The Sahel is an arid place prone to frequent droughts and yet most of the people who live there depend on rain-fed agriculture. Teaching people how to harvest rainwater in ponds and grow drought-resistant crops can help them to get through bouts of dry weather. Another way to stave off hunger are village granaries where families can borrow grain during the lean season and then "repay" it at the next harvest.    * WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, visit the link below to access the latest news stories. Visit the related web page
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