Lifesaving Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items Response for  IDPs in 2017 The proposed intervention will provide life-saving assistance to 4000 HH (22,000 internally displaced persons) impacted by natural disasters (drought, floods, and other natural hazards) and conflict, and who are in critical need of emergency shelter (ES) and non-food items (NFI) in Ethiopia. 

Natural disasters including drought, flooding, landslide and conflict are recurrent phenomena in most parts of Ethiopia. These disasters are major causes of displacement for large numbers of people and result in loss of human life and assets, disruption of livelihoods and damage to basic services and infrastructure. According to the DTM (Displacement Tracking Matrix) Round 5, conducted nationwide in May/June 2017, a total of 171,161 households (HH) representing 1,056,738 individuals, are in a situation of internal displacement in various regions of Ethiopia. The highest rates of displacement are reported in Somali (53%), Oromia (34%), Afar (5%), Tigray (4%), Gambella (2%) Amhara (1%) and Hareri (0.4%) regions respectively. The primary drivers of displacement across the country include conflict (56%), drought (35%) and flash floods (3%). Of the total displaced 51.6% are women and 48.4% are male.   

Nationally, the ES/NFI Cluster has 6,000 ES/NFI kits in stock, with an additional 10,300 kits being procured. With  current needs exceeding the ES/NFI kits in stock and pipeline, the cluster is forced to prioritize its response, so that only a fraction of acute needs are currently met. Within the proposed project, the ES/NFI cluster will apply the inter-cluster prioritization criteria and will target 16 zones (51,000 HHs) classified as ‘priority 1’ who have not benefitted from any response and a further 22 ‘Priority 2’ zones (72,000 HHs) that have received some assistance.  

The project will be implemented through a coordinated response of the following Cluster members: the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). 

In total, through the joint IOM, IRC and NRC intervention, ES/NFI assistance will be provided to 12,900 households (9,800 in kind and 3,100 in cash) while a total of 16,319 women from ES/NFI beneficiary households will receive in kind dignity kits. The ES/NFI kits will be distributed in Somali (30%) Oromia (20%), Afar (20%), Gambella (10%), Amhara (7%), Southern Nations Nationalities and People (SNNP) (5%), Tigray (5%) and ‘Other’ (3%) regions. Exact areas of distribution will be identified through joint assessment by ES/NFI Cluster agencies in coordination with regional and zonal government authorities. 

Cash -based assistance will be provided for 3,100 households (IOM: 2,200 HH, IRC: 400 HHs, NRC: 500 HH by NRC) in project locations where quality materials are available on the local market and can be purchased directly by beneficiaries. 
IRC will use this opportunity to pilot cash-based programming on ES/NFI and apply lessons learnt from the cash based program piloted by the ES/NFI cluster members. 

Through this project, the IRC will provide life-saving ES/NFI assistance for 4,000 HHs (22,000 internally displaced persons) and dignity kits for 5,060 women and girls of reproductive age in Somali, Afar, Oromia, Gambella, Southern Nations and Nationalities People’s Region (SNNPR), Amhara, Tigray and Other Regions of Ethiopia. People who have been internally displaced in 2017 due to natural disasters (drought, floods, and other natural hazards) and/or conflict, and who are in critical need of ES/NFI, will be prioritized. The IRC will intervene directly in geographic regions where it has a presence (such as Oromia, Somali, SNNPR, Gambella and Tigray) and will distribute ES-NFI assistance through active partners in areas where the IRC has limited geographic physical presence. 

Cash based assistance will be used for an estimated 10% of the total number of beneficiaries – representing 400 IDP HHs.