Retreat outcomes: Ethiopia lessons learned from the El-Niño drought, 2015-16

Starting from June 2015 until the end of 2016, Ethiopia experienced one of the worst droughts in decades with a devastating impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. At the peak of the crisis in April 2016, 10.2 million people were targeted with life‐saving food assistance and an additional 7.9 million people benefitted from the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). The El Niño‐induced drought was followed by extensive flooding that affected 480,000 people, of whom 190,000 were displaced. The severe drought combined with the floods and disease outbreaks such as the Acute Watery Diarrhea, substantially eroded people’s coping capacities which further increased the level of needs. The impact of the crisis on livelihoods, people’s nutritional and health status and the provision of basic services has also been significant.