Mustahil (woreda)

Mustahil (Somali: Mustaxiil) is one of the woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Gode Zone, Mustahil is bordered on the south by Somalia, on the west by Kelafo, on the north by the Korahe Zone, and on the east by Ferfer. The Shebelle River is flowing through this woreda. The major town in this woreda is Mustahīl.

The average elevation in this woreda is 310 meters above sea level.^[1] As of 2008, Mustahil has no all-weather gravel road nor any community roads; about 7.96% of the total population has access to drinking water.^[2]

Recent flooding

Mustahil was heavily affected by the flash floods in Ethiopia during September 2006, the worst of any woreda in the Somali Region. An initial assessment by Ethiopian authorities found that 45,000 people were affected by the flooding;^[3] more recent numbers reported for this woreda were two people and 5,400 livestock killed and 1,440 hectares of cropland ruined.^[4]

The October 2007 flooding affected 26,825 people in this woreda, displacing approximately 6,000, and devastating kebeles that had not been affected in the worst flooding of 2006.^[5] These kebeles included Budul, Jagi, Fagug, and Iman Ise. Moreover, grazing land, water sources and approximately 5,630 hectares of crop land were reportedly destroyed by flood waters in Mustahil and Kelafo, which further exacerbated the already fragile food security of the region.^[6]

Demographics

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this woreda has a total population of 49,315, of whom 26,668 are men and 22,647 women. While 6,174 or 12.52% are urban inhabitants, a further 7,332 or 14.87% are pastoralists. 99.45% of the population said they were Muslim.^[7] This woreda is inhabited by Hawadle clan of the Somali people.^[8]

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 50,085, of whom 17,525 were men and 14,530 women; 2,956 or 5.9% of its population were urban dwellers. The largest ethnic group reported in Mustahil was the Somali 50,035 (99.9%).^[9]

It is primarily inhabited by the Hawadle and Jidle Clans.

Notes

1. Hailu Ejara Kene, Baseline Survey of 55 Weredas of PCDP Phase II, Part I (Addis Ababa: August 2008), Annex 1 (accessed 23 March 2009)
2. Hailu Ejara Kene, Baseline Survey, Annexes 16, 17
3. "More support needed for flood victims", accessed 17 October 2006 (IRIN)
4. Flood Affected Areas and Population - Somali Region (November 2006) Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (accessed 26 November 2006)
5. "Ethiopia Flood Situation Report, 05 October 2007", UN-OCHA Ethiopia (accessed 8 February 2009)
6. "Ethiopia Flood Situation Report No. 4, 21 September 2007", UN-OCHA Ethiopia (accessed 8 February 2009)
7. Census 2007 Tables: Somali Region, Tables 2.1, 2.4, 3.1 and 3.4.
8. Permanent agricultural settlements along the Webi Shabelle River in the Gode Zone of the Ethiopian Somali National Regional state, UNDP Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia report, dated November 1995 (accessed 20 December 2008)
9. 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Somali Region, Vol. 1 Tables 2.1, 2.12 (accessed 10 January 2009). The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997.

Coordinates: 5°25′N 44°45′E / 5.417°N 44.750°E