Reflecting on livestock-related interventions in the 2020-2023 drought in Ethiopia and identifying areas for improvement: A qualitative study of expert opinions

Abstract

Between 2020 and 2023 Ethiopia faced its worst drought for four decades, losing over four million livestock and placing over twelve million people into food insecurity. The overall aim of this study was to gain detailed, real reflections on the livestock-related humanitarian interventions used during the 2020-2023 drought to improve future efforts. More specifically this study aimed to evaluate the livestock-related drought interventions in Ethiopia; identify key areas requiring improvement for future responses; and explore potential solutions which could improve relevant interventions for future droughts in Ethiopia, given the trends of climate change. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted of in-depth key informant interviews of experts in Addis Ababa and the Borana district, using open/inductive and axial coding techniques (n=7). This yielded four major themes and thirteen sub-themes, The main findings of this study include that during the 2020-2023 drought in Ethiopia, the interviewed experts felt that timing of funding release/response was too late; responses such as vaccination, de-stocking and Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) were not used optimally; and that rangeland and water management need prioritisation to improve sustainability and resilience. This study argues that further research is needed to understand why resources were not mobilised in a timely manner, why organisations continue to provide responses against guidelines and what resources and partnerships are needed to improve existing efforts. It recommends a focus shift towards core, natural resource inputs and that a streamlined resource mobilisation procedure be designed and implemented.