The Australian Government is providing further humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia and Somalia to support those affected by drought conditions, and those affected by the ongoing conflict in Somalia.

Two seasons of poor or non-existent rainfall in Ethiopia, exacerbated by the current El Niño event, has left more than 10 million Ethiopians in need of assistance. An estimated 2.1 million people are suffering acute malnutrition and over 100,000 have been displaced.

The Australian Government will provide an additional $10 million to Ethiopia to help provide food and nutrition support, and services such as health and sanitation. In addition, the United Nations World Food Programme has channelled $6.4 million of Australia’s core funding towards its operations in Ethiopia bringing Australia’s total funding for the Ethiopian drought to $16.4 million.

The Australian Government is also providing a further $5 million in humanitarian assistance to Somalia, bringing Australia’s contribution to the Somalia crisis to $9 million since the beginning of 2015.

Over 4 million Somalis are in need of humanitarian assistance due to ongoing conflict and the deepening impacts of El Niño conditions. Delivered through the United Nations, funding will support life-saving interventions such as emergency food, water, shelter and healthcare.

Australia’s contribution will help vaccinate around 12,000 women and children, provide approximately 29,000 people with access to food and 59,000 people with sustainable access to safe water.