Extreme drought in Ethiopia stretches drought management systems

The 2015–16 drought in Ethiopia was an exceptionally rare event, likely occurring once every few hundred years in central and north-eastern regions, exacerbated by El Niño. It affected 9.7 million people, causing over 75% crop loss in most affected areas and the death of one million livestock. While the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) and government resources provided critical support, the event demonstrated that existing preparedness systems are limited when facing very extreme events. However, outcomes were better than the droughts of 1973 and 1984, indicating improved resilience.

• The 2015–16 drought was an exceptionally rare meteorological event in central and north-eastern Ethiopia, with scientists estimating it as a one in 60-year event at minimum, and more likely a one in several hundred-year event. The 2015 El Niño phenomenon contributed to the severity of the drought.
• The drought caused severe humanitarian and agricultural impacts, affecting 9.7 million Ethiopians. Reported losses included over 75% of crop production in most affected areas, the death of one million livestock, and malnutrition affecting 1.7 million people (moderate-to-acute) and 435,000 people (severe-acute).

APA

Jjemba, E., Singh, R., & Arrighi, J. (2017). Extreme drought in Ethiopia stretches drought management systems. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Extreme-drought-in-Ethiopia-stretches-drought-management-systems.pdf

Chicago

Jjemba, Eddie, Roop Singh, and Julie Arrighi. Extreme drought in Ethiopia stretches drought management systems. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2017. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Extreme-drought-in-Ethiopia-stretches-drought-management-systems.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jjemba |first1=Eddie |last2=Singh |first2=Roop |last3=Arrighi |first3=Julie |title=Extreme drought in Ethiopia stretches drought management systems |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=2017 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Extreme-drought-in-Ethiopia-stretches-drought-management-systems.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jjemba2017extreme, author = {Jjemba, Eddie and Singh, Roop and Arrighi, Julie}, title = {{Extreme drought in Ethiopia stretches drought management systems}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2017}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Extreme-drought-in-Ethiopia-stretches-drought-management-systems.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }