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Crisis Severity0 Very lowVery high 5
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Impact0 Very lowVery high 5
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Humanitarian Conditions0 Very lowVery high 5
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Complexity0 Very lowVery high 5
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Access ConstraintsNo constraintsExtreme constraints
Key figures
Special Reports
10/03/2023
Overview
30/06/2020
Climate shocks, including droughts and flash floods, have resulted in rising levels of malnutrition, displacement, food insecurity, and recurring disease outbreaks. Almost 280,000 Djiboutians, or 29% of the population, are projected to experience moderate and severe levels of food insecurity between 2018 and 2022, with the highest concentrations of severely food insecure people in the regions of Obock, Ali Sabieh and Dikhil.?
In addition to climate shocks, a main driver of food insecurity is Djibouti’s dependence on imports for 90% of its food needs, which means it is highly vulnerable to the fluctuations of international market prices. Agricultural production accounts for only 3% of the GDP as less than the 0.04% of Djibouti’s land area is arable land. Rains are also scarce, with an average of 130mm each year.?
High levels of unemployment and widespread poverty cause further humanitarian needs. 76% of the population between the age of 15 and 35 is unemployed.?
Djibouti is a major migration route in the Horn of Africa with up to 400-600 migrants crossing the country daily on their way to the Arabian Peninsula. 100,000 migrants are estimated to live in Djibouti, the majority from Ethiopia, along with 30,000 refugees from Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea and Ethiopia. A large mobile population with scarce access to water and sanitation heightens risk of disease spread in case of outbreaks.?
Latest Developments
07/06/2023
Between March–June 2023, an estimated 250,000 people (21% of the population analysed) will face high food insecurity levels – i.e. Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse. This includes 86,000 people (7% of the population) facing Emergency (IPC Phase 4) food insecurity. These figures indicate a 47% increase in highly food-insecure people compared to the same period in 2022. The crisis will hit rural regions the hardest, with the high prevalence of food insecurity in these regions resulting from various factors, such as insufficient diets, low purchasing power, and restricted income-generating opportunities. From January–December 2023, more than 33,000 cases of acute malnutrition are expected among children between 6–59 months old, as well as 2,900 cases affecting pregnant and lactating women. Among the affected children, over 5,500 cases are anticipated to suffer from severe acute malnutrition. Those affected will need food, nutrition, shelter, health, and WASH services.?
KEY PRIORITIES
30/06/2020
WASH: levels of access to sanitation and safe water sources are low. More than 70% of people in cities can access sanitation services; only 16.4% in rural areas. Open defecation is practiced by a minority of the population. Reparation of latrines destroyed by cyclone Sagar in 2018 and constructions of new ones to prevent open defecation were still ongoing when floods hit in November 2019.?
Health: Epidemics of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) are common, with almost 3,500 cases in 2018 due to lack of access to safe water and low sanitation coverage, especially on migration routes. The number of yearly malaria cases has been increasing since 2012 with 43,000 cases reported in 2019 despite recent governmental efforts aimed at controlling the epidemics.?
Food security: around one-third of the population is chronically food insecure. People in rural areas have the highest levels of food insecurity due to recurring droughts and lack of access to basic services.?
