DJIBOUTI: Food security critical as drought intensifies

Photo: Abdi Hassan/IRIN

Adero Abdulla, a mother of four, is one of thousands of pastoralists displaced by drought in Djibouti

DJIBOUTI, 16 February 2011 (IRIN) - A combination of drought and high food prices has affected at least 120,000 people in Djibouti, according to a joint rapid assessment of the impact of drought in rural areas by the government of Djibouti, UN agencies and FEWS Net.

"Both rural and urban households are affected by the drought at different levels, with 60,000 directly food-insecure in rural areas," Mario Touchette, the World Food Programme (WFP) representative in Djibouti, told IRIN.

Many Djiboutians have lost livestock and their coping mechanisms have progressively deteriorated due to recurring droughts in the past four to five years.

Touchette said many families who were previously able to have three meals a day had been reduced to one or two a day. Rural families have had to send some members of their families to urban areas as the food security situation becomes critical.

"Now after so many droughts, they don't have so many options to survive; that is why I say that the situation is very critical, especially with the La Niña phenomenon," Touchette said. Read More