Ethiopia: Access Snapshot, Oromia region (south-west) (As of 31 October 2022) - Ethiopia (2024)

In 2022, the humanitarian situation in the southern and western parts of Oromia region has significantly deteriorated because of conflict leading to an increased number of security incidents, and the severe drought. In Western Oromia as well as in border areas with Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz region (BGR), insecurity and clashes with Unidentified Armed Groups (UAGs) have displaced an estimated 740,000 people. In Southern Oromia, clashes with UAGs continued, in particular in Guji and West Guji, while drought has affected over 3.5 million people.

Since 2019, insecurity has impacted people's access to basic services such as health, education or water and sanitation, and caused destruction and damage of essential infrastructure. Aid workers-like the rest of the civilian population-have not been spared from these security incidents and faced increasing levels of violence and harassment. Insecurity and other constraints have exacerbated humanitarian needs while very little assistance has been provided.

In 2022, aid partners have faced serious challenges to reach people in need. Security incidents have prevented the delivery of aid in large parts of Oromia. Overall, in 2022, the humanitarian response capacity in western and southern Oromia has reduced by 50 per cent, due to limited funding and re-prioritization of resources to other crises. The food response remained insuffi-cient in terms of quantity and quality, compromised by insecurity and logistic issues, against a backdrop of increasing malnutrition rates above emergency levels. Partners have not been able to scale up the response due to insecurity, access restrictions, and limited capacity due to funding shortages.

In western Oromia, the scale and scope of hostilities intensified in 2022 and spread to new areas such as Horo Guduru Wollega and Ilu Aba Bora Zones, as well as North, East and South-West Shewa (Central Oromia). Due to insecurity, aid partners had to halt life-saving operations, stop movements, and hibernate in field locations. Violence has impacted the transport of relief supplies along the road Addis Ababa - Ambo - Nekemte and onwards to Assossa (BGR), impacting the response to hundreds of thousands of IDPs and refugees. At the time of writing, large areas remain out-of-reach to aid partners, for instance, thousands of non-food items (NFIs) remain stored in Nekemte and Addis. In Horo Gudru Wollega Zone, partners have struggled to sustain access to over 100,000 people displaced. In West Wellega thousands of IDPs have not received food for two years, while in East Wellega, large amounts of wheat remain stored in Nekemte town pending to be distributed in rural areas. Despite not being affected by the drought, nutrition assessments in several areas indicate a spike in malnutrition rates among children and pregnant and lactating mothers. Further, physical access constraints related to poor state of roads following heavy rainfall have challenged the transportation of aid supplies to rural areas.

In southern Oromia, violence has impacted the response in drought affected areas, against a significant increase in needs. The latest BeIg assessment has identified that across the sub-re-gion, four million people need food aid, from 1.9 million people one year ago. Insecurity hindered the provision of life-saving assistance and the mobilization of relief supplies to Southern' s Nations and Nationalities People's (SNNP), and Somali regions due to the blockages along the main roads. Hostilities in Guji and West Guji zones have left large areas out-of-reach to aid partners, many of them hard-to-reach since 2019. Affected communities face movement restric-tions limiting their access to basic services and aid. Further, scarcity of resources due to the drought has exacerbated tensions between pastoralist communities in neighbouring areas with Somali region. For instance, 34,000 have been displaced in Guradamole woreda in Bale zone. According to authorities, only 23 percent of the affected population (out of 434,500 identified in the 2022 BeIg needs assessment) have received food aid in 2022. Through southern Oromia, damage to public infrastructures continues to hamper the delivery of essential services. Hundreds of health facilities, government offices at kebele level or schools have been damaged or destroyed. In Guji alone, 70 health facilities and 91 schools are non-functional due to damage and looting.

Aid workers through Oromia region are working in volatile and dangerous conditions. They are often trapped between conflict lines, and unable to reach people in need according to the internationally recognized principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence. In 2022, violence affecting medical missions and aid workers has largely increased in the region. Vehicles and commodities were often commandeered, aid workers have been detained and/or kidnapped and experienced other forms of harassment and intimida-tion. This has been compounded by an increase in criminal activities in rural areas that impact the population and aid workers alike.