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DRA Desert Locust Joint Response
Ethiopia, Somalia and Somaliland
DURATION: April 2020 – October 2020 TOTAL BUDGET: €4,000,000 – spent in 2020 €3,954,638
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Project description
A number of countries in the Horn of Africa were confronted with extreme food insecurity as a result of the desert locust plague – one of the worst ever. The desert locust is considered to be one of the most destructive, migrating plagues in the world: the plague is hyper-mobile and voraciously devours virtually any kind of vegetation. The locusts devastated farmland and grassland, land on which many people depend for their livelihoods, and thus had a major impact on the region’s food security and economy. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the problems experienced by the families concerned. We led the Desert Locust Joint Response by the Dutch Relief Alliance, and worked with Cordaid, Dorcas, ICCO Cooperation, Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Tearfund Nederland and ZOA. During this six-month intervention the aid in the different regions in Ethiopia and Somalia focused on: • Controlling the locusts; • Improving food security; • Constructing facilities to benefit livelihoods; • Improving access to clean drinking water; • Providing information about hygiene and
Covid-19; • Financial support for extra vulnerable groups; • Creating awareness about Covid-19, the importance of hygiene and social distancing, and distributing hygiene packs. Together with all partners we were able to jointly provide 167,850 of those hit by the locust plague with the necessary humanitarian support. The eight organisations worked closely with local organisations and the authorities.
Target group
The project focuses on families hit hardest by the locust crisis and on the economic and medical effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Special attention is devoted to children, women with children and/or pregnant women, to households run by children, the elderly, people with a disability, the chronically ill and people with an increased safety risk and/or health risk.
Main activities and results
During the project, SOS Children’s Villages focused on the most vulnerable and hardest hit communities in the Maroodi Jeex and Awdal regions in Somaliland. The main objective was to strengthen the farmers afflicted by the locusts (pastoralists & agro-pastoralists). We concentrated on controlling the locusts, improving access to basic needs and protecting and sustainably rebuilding their livelihoods so that the families and communities are also able to help themselves in the long term. SOS Children’s Villages also worked to combat the spread of Covid-19. We tried to prepare and arm the local population as much as possible against the global pandemic by providing information about the virus, emphasising the importance of good hygiene, distributing soap, water and other hygiene products. We reached a total of 18,100 people through various activities in the following areas.
Food Security & Livelihood • Awareness raising for 6,600 people on preparedness and mitigation focusing on coping with the locust infestation
and other current challenges. • Providing tractor hours and land preparation support to 330 affected agro-pastoralist farming households (2,381 people). • Providing agricultural inputs (wheelbarrow, rake, hoe, shovels, seeds, etc.) to 330 affected agro-pastoralist farming households. • Training for 330 households in climateresilient agriculture.
WASH • Providing comprehensive hygiene kits to 400 households (2,625 people) • Providing personal protective equipment and materials for staff and volunteers of
SOS SX (50 people) • Awareness raising for grassroots communities on Hygiene, Sanitation and Covid-19 prevention for 1,320 households (7,920 people) Multi-purpose Cash / Cash for Work activities • Multi-purpose unrestricted cash transfers for 300 households (2,005 people) for those identified as most vulnerable, supporting basic needs and livelihoods • Cash for work activities for 130 households (1,010 people) working in soil bunds to mitigate land degradation • Cash for work for 300 households (2,005 people) to support mechanical efforts to control the locusts under the lead of the national task force.
Impact
18,100 people affected by the locust plague, whose crops were lost and whose cattle were starving, have been helped through various activities - including cash for work initiatives to control the locusts - to get through the crisis and to rebuild their livelihoods.
Locust plague causes extreme food insecurity
“The effect of the locust plague is devastating. Many families depend on agriculture and livestock; they have to fight for their livelihoods and therefore their lives. We are providing the necessary support to the hardest hit families to prevent them from running out of food. At the same time, we are focusing on combating the locusts and strengthening food security. It is very important that we help (agro) pastoralists to arm themselves for a possible next plague. We do this by (temporarily) providing them with mechanised agricultural tools and by properly training them to cultivate and protect their land. For example, we teach the farmers to dig trenches in which the locust eggs can be buried to prevent them from hatching.” - project coordinator Ahmed Saed.
