According to the Bank’s website, the Emergency Food Assistance Project in Response to Drought-Induced Food Insecurity in Djibouti aims to mitigate the immediate impacts of a severe and prolonged drought that has significantly worsened food insecurity across the country. The project is financed through a USD 1 million grant from the African Development Bank’s Special Relief Fund (SRF). The operation is implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP) as the executing agency, in close coordination with the Government of Djibouti, notably the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity. The Bank’s contribution complements the Government’s national humanitarian response plan and ongoing emergency interventions supported by WFP and other development partners. While the Government and WFP are covering a large share of the affected population, the Bank’s financing specifically fills remaining coverage gaps for vulnerable households not yet assisted.

The objective of the project is to reduce the immediate impact of drought on food security and nutrition among vulnerable populations in Djibouti by improving access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Through emergency food distributions, the project aims to stabilize household food consumption during the crisis period, reduce reliance on negative coping strategies such as reducing meals or selling productive assets, temporarily preserve household resilience and livelihoods, and help mitigate secondary impacts of food insecurity, including disruptions to children’s education in affected communities.

The project directly targets 21,800 vulnerable people, corresponding to approximately 4,360 households, living in drought-affected areas classified as IPC Phase 3 or above. At least 50 percent of the beneficiaries are women, with particular attention given to female-headed households, pregnant and lactating women, older persons, and people with disabilities. Beneficiaries are located across the most affected regions of Arta, Ali Sabieh, Dikhil, Obock, and Tadjourah and will receive emergency food assistance amounting to approximately 766.4 metric tons of food commodities during the project implementation period.

The project is classified as Category 3. It is justified by the fact that the project funds activities consisting of supporting communities through the distribution of food and water, which pose no environmental or social risks.

The project is financed through a USD 1 million grant from the African Development Bank’s Special Relief Fund (SRF).

Financial Instrument: Emergency Assistance
Commitments (UA): 733,089
Conversion Rate USD (2026-01-06): 1,35078
Commitments (USD): 990,241.95

Name: Chantal UMUHIRE
Email: c.umuhire@afdb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/request-for-documents. Under the AfDBs Disclosure and Access to Information policy, if you feel the Bank has omitted to publish information or your request for information is unreasonably denied, you can file an appeal at https://www.afdb.org/en/disclosure-and-access-to-information/appeals-process.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at: https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/