At an ad hoc inter-agency task force meeting held on 27 April and which was co-chaired by UNHCR and ARRA, ARRA assured all humanitarian actors of security as the government has reinforced the presence of Ethiopian Defence Force and Federal Police who are currently controlling the situation in Gambella region.

Both refugees and members of host communities participated in activities to commemorate World Refugee Day on 20 June, which focused on promoting peaceful coexistence among refugees and between refugees and their host community. The main event in Gambella region took place at Tierkidi camp. There were also activities in the other five South Sudanese refugee camps in the region.

DanChurchAid (DCA) in collaboration with UNHCR and the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) hosted a delegation of the Ambassador of Denmark to Ethiopia, the DCA General Secretary, Head of Humanitarian Director, and the DCA Regional Representative Delegation. The mission visited the Fresh Food Voucher project in Tierkidi camp on 19 October.

Due to identification of risk of measles outbreak in Kule refugee camp, MSF-Holland conducted a mass measles vaccination exercise from 11-14 January 2016 wherein 97.2% i.e. 5,767 from 5,934 targeted children aged 6-59 months were vaccinated against measles.

ECHO - The South and South-East of Ethiopia are affected by serious drought due to the fourth consecutive failed rainy season.

ECHO Field Expert Mr. Jacob Asens and ECHO WASH Regional Adviser Mr. Jerome Burlot were in Gambella region from 10 to 14 August 2015 with a focus on assessing.

Following the road accident in Jewi camp and the violent incidents, UNHCR and other humanitarian workers were forced to withdraw from Jewi, Kule and Tierkidi refugee camps while contact with refugees was done through remote monitoring. Area Security Management Team (ASMT) meetings were held to discuss the insecurity during which appropriate measures were taken including restrictions on movement of UN and other humanitarian agencies.

For better protection and humanitarian assistance, UNHCR, in collaboration with partners, is undertaking a shelter addressing exercise in all the six refugee camps in Gambella region. The exercise, which started on 7 March, involves marking of shelters using permanent paint indicating the plot address. The address with make it easier to locate refugees and improve on provision of services and assistance. About 20,000 transitional shelters and 38,000 emergency shelters/tents are being marked with addresses during the exercise.

From 10_13 March 2016, UNHCR supported a WFP mission that was evaluating the impact of WFP Ethiopia operations for the period 2014-2015 in Gambella. The mission visited Jewi and Tierkidi refugee camps and interviewed different refugee groups including key informants from food, nutrition, WASH and livelihoods sectors.

From 14-15 March, the UNHCR Representative, Ms. Clementine Nkweta Salami visited the UNHCR operation in Gambella to get first-hand information on the prevailing security situation and the way forward to ensure staff safety and to keep humanitarian activities running smoothly. Interethnic clashes broke out in the region on 28 January and lasted for a few weeks.