Fiq Zone

Fiq (Somali: Fiiq) is one of the nine Zones of the Somali Region of Ethiopia. This zone is named after its largest city, Fiq. Fiq Zone is bordered on the south by Gode, on the west and north by the Oromia Region, and on the east by Degehabur. The western border is defined by the course of the Erer River.

The Swiss section of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) opened a clinic in the Zone in December 2007 to provide medical services to local civilians affected by the local conflict between local insurgents and the Ethiopian government. However, constant administrative hurdles and intimidation towards MSF staff prevented the organization from providing an effective level of medical care, and MSF decided to withdraw from the Zone in July of the next year. "Over the six months of our intervention, our medical teams could only work for ten weeks in Fiiq town and five in the periphery of the town where the most important needs are," said Hugues Robert, head of the MSF Ethiopia program.^[1]

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) in 2005, Fiq has an estimated total population of 290,694, of whom 159,815 were males and 130,879 were females; 33,740 or 11.6% of its population are urban dwellers. Information is not available for the area of Fiq, so its population density cannot be calculated.^[2]

The 1997 national census reported a total population for this Zone of 233,431 in 31,050 households, of whom 130,455 were men and 102,976 were women; 22,607 or 9.68% of its population were urban dwellers. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of 36 rural kebeles, which were not counted; they were estimated to have 14,460 inhabitants, of whom 7,955 were men and 6,505 women.) The largest ethnic group reported in Fiq was the Somali (99.89%); a similar proportion spoke Somali (99.98%). Only 2,912 or 1.33% were literate.^[3]

According to a May 24, 2004 World Bank memorandum, none of the inhabitants of Fiq have access to electricity, this zone has a road density of 0.0 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the average rural household has 1.5 hectare of land (compared to the national average of 1.01 hectare of land and an average of 2.25 for pastoral Regions)^[4] and the equivalent of 1.2 heads of livestock. 28.2% of the population is in non-farm related jobs, compared to the national average of 25% and an average of 28% for pastoral Regions. 18% of all eligible children are enrolled in primary school, and none in secondary schools. 83% of the zone is exposed to malaria, and 83% to Tsetse fly. The memorandum gave this zone a drought risk rating of 588.^[5]

Agriculture

On 5-23 November 2003, the CSA conducted the first ever national agricultural census, of which the livestock census was an important component.^[6] For the Somali Region, the CSA generated estimated figures for the livestock population (cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and equids) and their distribution by commissioning an aerial survey. For the Fiq Zone, their results included:

Notes