Life-Saving Integrated Humanitarian Assistance for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ethiopia The proposed intervention will provide integrated and comprehensive live-saving humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected populations in cluster-identified priority areas across Ethiopia. The project will combine assistance such as Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items (ES/NFI) provision and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services with essential protection and community rehabilitation support through Site Management Support (SMS) and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) activities.

Primary target locations for the integrated response include areas of significant internal displacement in Gedeo zone (SNNPR), West Guji zone (Oromia), East and West Wollega zones (Oromia), East Harage zone (Oromia)

The proposed intervention responds to cluster priorities as follows:

Protection: SMS services strengthen the overall wellbeing of IDPs within sites in East and West Wollega. SMS supports local and national authorities to ensure equitable access to assistance and protection for IDPs living in collective sites through service coordination and monitoring, and the set-up community participation and governance mechanisms. SMS contributes to the identification of challenges and protection risks on site, providing a safe access to complaint and feedback mechanisms for community members, and supporting to set up and functioning of referral pathways. SMS also helps addressing risks identified, carrying out site improvement activities to increase safety and dignity, and developing the capacity of key stakeholders working in collective site responses. IOM will complement SMS services within sites through MHPSS activities. This response will address key protection concerns faced by IDPs and other affected populations, through to provision of dedicated services to address the needs of men, women, boys and girls, including to survivors of Gender based Violence (GBV).”

Shelter/NFI: The proposed intervention will support 26,389 individuals with the following interventions: 3,600 households (HH) with life-saving shelter and NFI assistance– all 3,600 will receive in-kind ES, while 2,520 will receive in-kind NFI and 1080 will receive cash-for-NFI. The intervention will also support 550 households with critical shelter repair need via shelter repair kits distributed to support shelter recovery processes combined with HLP assistance. Additionally, 6 communal shelters (44 people per shelter) will be constructed in prioritized collective sites and in coordination with SMS and other service providers. IOM will also explore a cash for rent with a pilot methodology in support of 600 HH.

Of the 3,600 ES/NFI kits distributed, IOM will seek to target 10 to 15% host community in need of support with essential ES/NFI. Host communities in Ethiopia are often significantly affected by displacement events, as added caseloads of displaced persons strain existing community resources and infrastructures. Host communities often have their own objectively severe needs, though may be missed by humanitarian assistance as they are not themselves displaced. Proximity to such assistance without also being supported was seen in many cases in 2018 to have inflamed IDP / Host Community tensions. This environment reduces the safety of both host and IDP communities, raises protection concerns, and leaves over-strained host communities without support. Including host communities within the humanitarian assistance caseload supports a needs-based response approach and contributes to improving social cohesion and community structure rehabilitation in displacement-affected locations.

WASH: IOM will provide life-saving WASH interventions to support over 30,350 IDPs and will contribute to support emergency operations already in place in Gedeo in addition to responding to the upcoming rain season in western areas of Oromia so as to minimize the likelihood of disease outbreaks, such as AWD and other transmissible diseases, due to poor sanitation and hygiene.