Aid to Drought & Conflict Affected People Ethiopia

Dear GlobalGiving Donors,

Thank you for your continued support for vulnerable communities affected by drought, conflict and humanitarian crises in Ethiopia.

We are sharing this update openly because the situation on the ground has become increasingly difficult, while our ability to respond has been constrained by limited funding.

The Current Situation

Drought and conflict continue to place severe pressure on vulnerable communities. The effects are not limited to food availability. Families are also facing loss of livelihoods, displacement, reduced access to basic services and increased vulnerability to disease and malnutrition.

Malnutrition has become an increasingly serious concern in drought- and conflict-affected communities. When households lose livestock, crops, income and access to food, children and other vulnerable people are particularly exposed to nutritional risks.

The combination of drought, conflict, displacement and limited household resources has therefore increased the urgency of humanitarian assistance.

Our Current Challenge: The Needs Are Growing, but Funding Is Limited

The greatest challenge we currently face is the gap between growing humanitarian needs and available resources.

Despite continued efforts to identify opportunities and engage potential partners, we have not secured sufficient donor funding through this project to implement the level of humanitarian assistance originally envisioned.

As a result, our ability to provide direct assistance to drought- and conflict-affected communities has been very limited.

We believe it is important to communicate this honestly to our supporters. We do not want to present activities that were not adequately funded as completed results.

What We Have Continued to Do

Even with limited resources, alignAfrica has remained engaged with communities and local stakeholders and has continued to monitor emerging needs.

Our efforts have included:

• Listening to communities and identifying changing humanitarian priorities;
• Maintaining relationships with local stakeholders;
• Promoting community participation in identifying needs and potential solutions;
• Paying particular attention to women, children and other vulnerable groups;
• Exploring partnerships and funding opportunities for humanitarian response; and
• Linking immediate humanitarian needs with longer-term resilience, livelihoods and recovery where possible.

However, these efforts have not translated into the scale of direct humanitarian assistance that communities currently need.

Malnutrition Requires Urgent Attention

The worsening nutritional situation reinforces the need for integrated humanitarian action.

Support is needed not only for food, but also for nutrition screening and referral, health and hygiene, clean water, livelihoods and protection, depending on the needs and context of each affected community.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of inadequate nutrition. Early identification and appropriate referral and treatment can be critical in preventing malnutrition from becoming more severe.

This is an area where stronger partnerships and additional resources could make a meaningful difference.

What We Have Learned

This experience has reinforced several important lessons for alignAfrica.

Community engagement remains essential. Communities understand their own priorities and should be involved in identifying and monitoring responses.

Humanitarian funding needs to be timely and flexible. By the time resources become available, the situation on the ground may have changed significantly.

Drought and conflict cannot always be addressed separately. Their combined effects can increase food insecurity, displacement, livelihood losses and malnutrition.

Local organizations need stronger access to humanitarian partnerships and resources. Community-based organizations are often closely connected to affected populations, but their capacity to respond depends heavily on available funding and partnerships.

Looking Ahead

We remain committed to working with drought- and conflict-affected communities and to seeking partnerships and resources that can support an effective response.

Our priorities include:

• Mobilizing resources for emergency humanitarian assistance;
• Supporting community-based identification of vulnerable households and children;
• Strengthening nutrition-related referrals and linkages with appropriate services;
• Supporting food security, livelihoods and resilience where resources permit;
• Integrating protection, GESI and safeguarding into humanitarian action;
• Strengthening partnerships with humanitarian and development organizations; and
• Maintaining transparent communication with donors about both achievements and limitations.

An Honest Appeal

The needs are increasing, particularly for vulnerable households and children facing food insecurity and malnutrition.

At the same time, we currently do not have sufficient donor funding to respond at the scale required.

This is the reality we want our GlobalGiving supporters to understand.

We remain ready to work with communities and partners, but we need additional resources and partnerships to turn that readiness into meaningful assistance.

We are grateful to everyone who has supported this project and to GlobalGiving for providing a platform that connects organizations with people who care about vulnerable communities.

The needs remain urgent. The funding gap remains significant. And our commitment to affected communities remains strong.

Thank you for your trust, partnership and continued commitment.

With sincere appreciation,