Emergency response to protect core breeding livestock and vulnerable households against the effects of desert locust and other related shocks in Dollo zone Somali Region. The Somali region of Ethiopia is facing a complex humanitarian crisis as a result of the Desert Locust (DL) invasion and other shocks including recurrent drought, flooding and also now COVID-19. According to the Desert Locust Situation Report January 2020, the first Desert Locust mature swarms entered Ethiopia in June 2019. The hopper bands recorded until the end of December 2019 covered more than 544 km2 of which 88 percent was effectively controlled and 66.8 million MT of green vegetation was spared. However, the 12 percent uncontrolled locust population solely present in the Somali region has covered 64 km2, which holds on average 3.2 billion locusts (@50 million per km2). This population has produced invading locusts, which have moved to new areas in the Somali, Oromia, and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' regional states and even crossed to Kenya. The locusts have consumed approximately 8.9 million MT of green vegetation in the source areas over a two-month period. 

Massive hopper bands formation is ongoing in rangelands of the Somali Region and fledging into young adults. More breeding swarms from Yemen and Somalia continue to arrive in the Somali Region. The above-normal rainfall in the October-December 2019 period created favorable conditions for breeding and production of hoppers in the affected areas. Considering the presence of rain and green vegetation in the Somali Region, the DL multiplication may continue until June 2020. In March 2020 pasture and browse condition depicted a worse situation in areas invaded by the DL compared to the other areas that were not invaded especially in parts of Somali region. Dollo Zone is part of the zone that has been worst affected. 

Following consultations with Somali Region and National Agriculture Task Force/Disaster Risk Management (DRM/ATF) Cluster and the Somali Regional Government, NRC proposes to work in Five Woredas of the most distant and severely desert locust-affected populations in Dollo zone, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and host community. The proposal is to assist 6,040 HHs (average number of HH is 6). The proposed project aims to ensure that Lives are saved and sustained. Specifically, it will ensure that target households are able to protect their livelihoods base through protection of the core breeding stock. The three results are Emergency livestock treatment (through training to community animal health workers, emergency livestock vaccination to 400,000 animals by facilitating the Regional Livestock Bureau’s work, and livestock treatment through voucher system) Supplementary feeding for core breeding livestock and Unconditional cash assistance for the most severely affected and vulnerable households. 

NRC will ensure protection and gender issues are mainstreamed in the project in order to avoid doing harm. NRC will take into account the specific gender roles in relation to livestock care and production. As women are mostly engaged rearing the ruminant animals, the project will target more women and other vulnerable groups under emergency livestock feed intervention (livestock owning households headed by persons with disability, chronic sickness, or the elderly).