VZCZCXRO7611
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #2483/01 2521215
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081215Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1974
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEPADJ/CJTF HOA
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 002483 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV EAID ECON ET
SUBJECT: PASTORAL HARDSHIPS IN THE SOMALI REGION 
 
REF: ADDIS 1823 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (SBU) In an August 8 - 14 visit to Filtu district in the 
Somali region, PolOff examined the effects of regional 
drought on food security, livelihoods, conflict, and 
populations movements.  Filtu district remains hard hit by 
continued drought conditions, pasture overgrazing, lack of a 
livestock market, failed crop production, and escalating food 
prices.  The little rain it did receive attracted 
pastoralists from adjacent regions and Kenya, further taxing 
its limited resources.  Common diseases among people and 
livestock exist but there appear to be no outbreaks thus far. 
 The USAID funded Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) has 
helped stem food insecurity but a lack of additional food 
relief threatens to undermine PSNP's long-term success. 
Water scarcity looms large for the Ayinne and Kulay 
communities and if anticipated seasonal rains fail again, the 
district will require immense water rationing and 
distribution.  PolOff also visited two internally displaced 
person (IDP) camps.  IDPs suffer from serious hunger and 
malnutrition and a child mortality rate of two per day out of 
an overall IDP population of 7,000 (as told by IDP leaders). 
No Ethiopian military movements or presence was observed in 
the area visited despite the road being a major military 
artery into and out of Somalia. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) PolOff accompanied a USAID mission to Filtu district 
in the Somali region from 8 August 2008 to 14 August 2008. 
Participants included the Chief of USAID's Office of Assets 
and Livelihood Transition (USAID/ALT), the Senior Program 
Manager for USAID/ALT, and staff from the Government of 
Ethiopia (GoE) Food Security Coordination Bureau and the 
World Bank.  The purpose of the trip was to monitor and 
assess the USAID funded Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) 
as piloted in Somali pastoral areas, while also observing 
broader political and economic issues related to drought, 
conflict, population movements, and livelihoods.  PolOff held 
meetings with USAID partners Pastoralists Concern Association 
Ethiopia (PCAE) and Save the Children US (SC-US), district 
officials on the Filtu Woreda Food Security Task Force 
(WFSTF), internally displaced persons (IDP), and community 
leaders in Ayinne and Kulay towns. 
 
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"Better Off" is Relative in Filtu Woreda 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Filtu woreda (district) is located in the southwest 
corner of the Somali region, in some places only a few 
kilometers from the Kenya and Somalia borders.  It hosts 38 
kebeles (towns) and an estimated 170,000 people, though some 
woreda officials say it is now closer to 200,000, of whom 
about 85 percent are pastoralists.  Unlike some places in 
Ethiopia, there is no "green famine" (Reftel) here - the land 
is brown from water scarcity, overgrazing, and overall 
drought conditions.  Woreda officials also expect no single 
crop production this cycle, largely due to army worm 
infestations and poor rain.  Still, Filtu is "better off" 
than other adjacent districts as it at least received some 
seasonal rains so far this year.  However, Filtu has faced a 
large influx of outside pastoralists and their livestock 
(including from Hargelle; Dolo Bay; Dolo Ado; Mandera, Kenya; 
and Ramo, Kenya), overburdening Filtu's limited watersources 
and pastures.  WFSTF officials outlined Filtu's four major 
challenges: continued drought, overgrazed pastures, no 
livestock market, and failed crop production.  Town leaders 
in Kulay repeated these woes and added the rise of food stock 
prices to the list.  A WFSTF health official reported no 
outbreaks or pandemics and said community health was "normal" 
(i.e. cases of malaria, diarrhea, influenza, TB, 
malnutrition) but he expected it to worsen if the drought 
continued.  Finally, WFSTF officials said their biggest needs 
in the near-term were additional water tankering, food and 
medical treatment for ailing livestock, and nutrition 
assistance. 
 
 
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PSNP-PAP Program and Food Relief Woes 
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ADDIS ABAB 00002483  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Productive Safety Net Program - Pastoral Area 
Pilot (PSNP-PAP) targets the most destitute to help alleviate 
chronic food insecurity in four Somali Region districts 
(including Filtu).  The USG is the largest donor to the 
overall GoE multi-donor PSNP fund and contributes through 
implementing partner SC-US in Filtu.  PSNP-PAP serves a total 
of 21,590 people in Filtu with 5,398 as direct food 
beneficiaries and the rest performing labor based public 
works programs for food.  Woreda officials say the public 
works program has worked well in Filtu (e.g. the officials 
noted the program has built 150km of dirt road, 10 toilets, 5 
community stores, and 2 mill houses), but the paucity of 
water makes work programs nearly impossible now. 
Pastoralists Concern Association Ethiopia (PCAE) credits PSNP 
as the main reason the "situation (in Filtu) is stable so 
far."  Town and district officials emphasized that the 
biggest PSNP-PAP challenge is choosing beneficiaries, as 
there are clearly more people in need than the current 
beneficiary level suggests. (Note: Beneficiary levels are 
ultimately set by the GoE and must be agreed to by district 
officials as a precondition to relief flows. End note). 
Ayinne town leaders said PSNP-PAP food relief consistently 
failed to meet overall community food needs but beneficiaries 
still chose to share their food sources with 
non-beneficiaries, diluting the amount per person.  Woreda 
officials said one town even told them that "if you can't 
bring increased PSNP targets, please don't come to our 
kebele."  Filtu falls within the federal relief plan but, 
officials say, despite their two appeals for emergency food 
relief in April and June, there has been no other food relief 
outside of the PSNP-PAP program.  If true, such a scenario 
severely undermines Ethiopia's PSNP programs which are 
designed to build long-term food security and not act as an 
acute emergency relief program. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Water Scarcity: A Tale of Two Ponds 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Water scarcity topped most officials' list of the 
most critical challenges facing the district.  Woreda 
officials say nine kebeles are now under water rationing 
regimes (i.e. water tanked in) paid for by the woreda until 
NGOs can help assist.  PolOff also observed about a 
half-dozen, unfinished water towers which NGOs said the GoE 
was constructing around Filtu district to pipe in water from 
the Dawa River.  PolOff visited two artificial water ponds in 
Kulay and Ayinne townships designed to capture seasonal rains 
for dry season use.  The Kulay pond was a dirt hole 
stretching about 40 meters by 30 meters and the sole water 
source for the Kulay townspeople.  Hundreds of camels, 
cattle, goats, sheep, and donkeys queued on its banks while 
others waded directly into the pond, indicating a lack of 
hygiene control (human water-borne illnesses were reported). 
Local leaders said it was the over-migration of pastoralists 
from other areas that really hurt them and that, at the 
current rate, the pond would dry up within two weeks, forcing 
them to move their families to the Dawa River roughly 65 
kilometers away.  The Ayinne pond, on the other hand, was 
concrete and about three times the size.  It had far better 
hygiene control as no animals or bathing were allowed in it 
and people de-shoed before entering. There was also ongoing 
onsite construction of a silt-filter, a well, an additional 
pond, and long entrapment channels.  Locals at both ponds 
reported no resource-driven conflicts, saying that as 
pastoralists they must help each other.  However, if the 
short September/October rains do not arrive, some NGOs say 
this "will be a disaster" and would likely lead to heightened 
tensions among people. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Livestock: Condition and Pastures 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) With pastoralists making up 85 percent of Filtu 
district, livestock are the literal lifeblood of this area. 
Cross-regional and cross-border livestock migrations have led 
to chronic overgrazing in Filtu district.  Poor rains and 
army worm infestations have further damaged pastures despite 
some successful pasture reclamation efforts by PCAE.  Woreda 
officials say common livestock diseases are present but with 
no serious outbreaks.  However, officials and NGOs worry that 
further drought will increase the risk of disease spread 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00002483  003 OF 003 
 
 
among migrating livestock while also further exposing them to 
starvation.  According to district officials, 46 camels, 102 
cattle, 468 goats/sheep, and 13 donkeys have already died in 
the past two months from starvation, dehydration, or disease. 
 Almost all cattle observed looked emaciated with bones 
showing. 
 
--------------------------- 
Livestock Markets and Trade 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Escalating food prices and the virtual absence of 
livestock markets are taking a heavy toll on Filtu residents. 
Pastoralists and officials alike said there was virtually "no 
livestock market" due to oversupply, meager demand, and fear 
of a worsening drought.  PolOff visited two USAID funded 
livestock market facilities in Filtu and Ngele where the few 
pastoralists present confirmed a severely diminished 
livestock trade.  A local comparison is the exchange rate of 
goats to 50kg of sorghum or other cereals.  When compared to 
last year, district and town officials say that the price of 
50kg of sorghum jumped over 400 percent to 300 birr (USD 30) 
while the price of a goat dropped 65 percent to below 90 birr 
(USD 9).  This has adversely impacted the local population's 
buying power for basic food stuffs.  On the positive side, a 
USAID funded women's cooperative in Ayinne produces incense 
destined for Italy and has become a source of savings for 
their impoverished community.  More broadly, trade goods in 
the Filtu district stream in from Somalia and Kenya (both 
commercial and smuggled) and include sugar, pasta, rice, 
sorghum, hygiene products, and other personal goods. 
 
--------------- 
IDP Populations 
--------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) PolOff visited two internally displaced persons 
(IDP) camps within the Filtu Woreda: Sora and Deka.  The Sora 
IDPs are nearing a humanitarian crisis.  About seven months 
ago, they fled conflicts over pasture and water resources 
from Kersa Dulla in the Oromiya region that followed a recent 
land referendum.  They settled on the River Genale and have a 
population of about 7,000, according to IDP leaders.  The 
IDPs have no visible livestock (saying all died or were 
looted) or agricultural means, virtually no food, and they 
report eating tree roots or sugar water for sustenance. 
Leaders say food assistance arrived only once since their 
arrival (last May) and PolOff observed symptoms of severe 
malnutrution in adults and children including marasmus (e.g. 
skinny arem and legs, skeletal look, bloated belly, sagging 
buttocks) and kwashiorshor (e.g. round moon face and edema). 
The woreda health assistant stationed there reported six 
child deaths in the two days with "a minimum of two kids 
daily."  These deaths continue with Mercy Corps reporting 
seven child deaths around August 26 when they visited.  Mercy 
Corps also said about 1,000 IDPs returned to Kersa Dulla but 
those IDPs PolOff interviewed said they did not believe they 
could do so.  USAID is working with NGOs, WFP, and the GoE to 
provide immediate targeted relief to Sora.  The second IDP 
camp, Deka, is settled along the main Filtu road.  They are 
comparably better off than IDPs in Sora, likely due to their 
proximity to the road and petty commerce, but they suffer 
from food and water shortages.  They say they are 700 Degodi 
clan Somalis who arrived between 4-12 months ago after 
fleeing conflict in the Guji and Bale zones of Oromiya 
region.  They were mostly agriculturalists but now sell 
roadside charcoal as their primary means of income. 
 
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No Military Movement 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The road from Addis Ababa to Filtu district is one 
of two main military arteries for the Ethiopian National 
Defense Force (ENDF) to move in and out of Somalia.  PolOff 
observed no military movements along the road to Filtu and 
locals also said there had been no recent military presence 
in Filtu or its surrounding areas.  There was only a large 
but unoccupied training barracks about 20 kilometers outside 
of Ngele heading toward Filtu. 
YAMAMOTO