Drought Needs Assessment in Yabello District, Borana Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Abstract Background Ethiopia is vulnerable to a variety of risks, including drought, flooding, livestock, and disease outbreaks. Borana Zone has been experiencing disaster-related occurrences year after year and received little attention in the Oromia region. We aimed to investigate drought consequences and notify stakeholders about the Borana zone emergency in preparation for drought mitigation policy implementation. Methods From October 22 to 30, 2021, a multi-stage random sampling technique was used in Yabelo district, covering 20 villages in 10 kebeles administrations. A structured questionnaire was utilized to collect primary data from 210 households and the district's health and nutrition condition was assessed using a secondary record review of the malnutrition report from 2019 to 2021. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results 70% of respondents were males. Drought killed 74.6% of cattle, 11.7% of goats, and 13.7% of camels. Of the 205 household interviewed, 61 (29.80%), 85 (41.5%), and 53 (25.85%) were pregnant women, children under the age of two, and persons over the age of 65, respectively. Overall, 83.4% of households lack access to improved water sources. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, the number of outpatient therapeutic feeding program cases was 573, 631, and 1135, respectively, whilst the number of stabilization center cases was 228, 233, and 316. The majority of the drought-affected community, 61.5%, requires food for humans, 21.5% for livestock, and 14.1% for water immediately. Conclusion We discovered that the effects of repeated droughts decreased pastoralist populations' ability to respond to disasters. The drought caused an increase in animal loss and malnutrition cases in the district. The government should take a variety of approaches to reducing the damaging effects of droughts, and an immediate humanitarian response is needed.