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Djibouti

Humanitarian Context

Ranked among the least developed countries as measured by the human development index, Djibouti is a land exhibiting strong contrasts. With a semi-arid climate, the country suffers from recurrent long periods of drought, affecting over 120,000 people nationwide, chiefly in rural areas. The lack of rain in recent years has severely cut down herd numbers, as well as damaging pasture zones, impelling the populations concerned to desert rural areas. Hence, some 60% of the population dwells in Djibouti City, the capital.

This rural depopulation increases the dependence of urban populations on foreign sources, particularly Ethiopia, to satisfy its primary needs: food, of which 90% is imported, and also energy and drinking water.

Limited and fluctuating earning opportunities, due to a 60% unemployment rate and high prices for basic foodstuffs and drinking water, have curtailed households' capacity to adjust, so that the slightest external shock has a devastating impact. Furthermore, limited access to sanitation and poor knowledge of good hygiene practices lead to a high incidence of diarrhoea-related illnesses.

This situation impacts the prevalence rate for acute malnutrition among children below the age of five. Despite a lack of regular, reliable data on malnutrition, the various surveys point to a situation in which acute malnutrition rates border on or exceed emergency thresholds in some districts. For rural areas, the latest WFP assessment in May 2013 shows a GAM rate of 18% as against 4.1% for SAM. For the vulnerable areas of Djibouti City, the WFP urban survey conducted in December 2012 revealed a GAM rate of 7.1% and a SAM rate of 1%. However, the 2012 PAPFAM survey is far more alarming, indicating 9.1% of SAM and 21.5% of GAM nationally.

Lack of financial and human resources limits the Health Ministry's capacity to integrate the National Food Programme in its urban or rural infrastructures. This means that sizeable shortcomings are becoming apparent in the management and treatment of acute malnutrition cases.

Djibouti

managed by

ACF FRANCE

launch date

2011

areas of intervention

Djibouti

22,320

beneficiaries

6,736

nutrition

16,675

water, sanitation and hygiene

37

workers

5

expatriates

32

national staff

6,736

nutrition

16,675

water, sanitation and hygiene

5

expatriates

32

national staff

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