Improving access to the critical needs of most vulnerable (PWDs, older peoples, children and women at risk) IDPs and hosting communities through integrated humanitarian action in Guchi Woreda of Borena zone, Oromia Region. The humanitarian situation changed continuously throughout 2020 and into the first half of 2021. According to the Humanitarian Response Plan 2021, major drivers of humanitarian needwere food insecurity, displacement, disease outbreaks, drought and seasonal floods among others. The HRP Jan 2021 estimated 28.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, of whom 18.6 million were reached by the Government of Ethiopia and the humanitarian community. The prevailing chronic vulnerabilities such as food insecurity and displacement were aggravated by the COVID pandemic which spread across the country The hugely under-funded response plan and the impacts of ongoing conflicts will further worsen the humanitarian situation during 2021. According to the IPC classification projection for the first half of 2021, 11.1 million people, mainly pastoralists and agro-pastoralists will be under IPC 3 (crisis) as compared to 6.7 million during the last quarter of 2020. The pastoralists who entirely depend on the crop production from belg producing areas will also be hard hit by food price inflation, which was as high as 22.1%, as of March 2021, as reported by Central Statistics Agency. 

According to the Humanitarian needs overview, released on February 2021, the COVID pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing intersectional inequalities related to gender, age, and disability, thus placing women, children, IDPs and other vulnerable populations at increased risk for Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases have rapidly increased over the past few weeks reaching a total of 260,139 confirmed cases from 2,6 million tests and 3,795 deaths, as of 5th May 2021. More than 50% of the cases are reported due to community transmission. Although the prevalence among older people is 7%, the fatality rate is over 60%. Given community resistance and practical challenges to follow prevention control guidance and limited official control measures, it is likely that COVID-19 will continue to spread in the coming months, with congested living places like IDP sites amp refugee camps becoming high risk areas.

According to the Humanitarian Response Plan, 2021, there are 2.7 million IDPs/returnees in the country who are living with lack of adequate access to basic services, including WASH, making them amongst the most vulnerable to COVID 19. The HRP also indicated the significant number of children in need of emergency education. As conflict incidences remain the major driver of displacement, IDP children have no or limited access to education and learning opportunities.

HelpAge has been operational in Borena and currently it is implementing an integrated humanitarian response project in seven woredas of Borena and Bale zones through inclusive humanitarian action where most vulnerable groups are supported to access essential services. The project also addresses the protection needs of vulnerable households through evidence-based programing by conducting regular protection monitoring to identify protection risks.

This project will be implemented in collaboration with a local partner, Action for Development (AFD), and will complement the ongoing integrated response in IDP sites of Borena zone being funded by the German Government. The proposed project addresses the WASH, Education and Protection needs exacerbated by the protracted emergency situation and the COVID 19 pandemic. While HelpAge will implement the WASH and Protection components AFD will implement the Education in Emergency interventions. In addition, regular awareness raising sessions will be conducted on SGBV and support will be provided to strengthen community-based support mechanisms on SGBV, including awareness-raising for community incentive workers and communication to at-risk groups on protection, risk mitigation (CP, SV) and access to services related to COVID 19, eg. PPE and local level awareness raising sessions.