Tackling disasters in Ethiopia 25 years
after the famine
22 October, 2009 | ReliefWeb
Source: Oxfam
Summary
In 1984, one million Ethiopians died during a catastrophic famine.
The government at the time hid the scale of hunger until a shocking
BBC television report ignited a massive relief effort, supported by
the Band Aid movement. Though this was too late for too many,
thousands of lives were saved.
The severity of suffering seen 25 years ago has not returned to
Ethiopia. But, as we are seeing again this year, drought still plagues
the country. Oxfam estimates that drought costs Ethiopia roughly
$1.1bn a year – almost eclipsing the total annual overseas assistance
to the country. The damage done by drought could increase too.
Climatic projections predict that, by the 50th anniversary of the
1984 famine, what we now call drought will be the norm, hitting the
region in three years out of four.
aids' such as imported food aid. This saves lives now, but it does
little to help communities withstand the next shock.
Seventy per cent of humanitarian aid to Ethiopia comes from the
USA. Most of this is 'in-kind' food aid, subject to conditions which
have nothing to do with development and mean that it costs up to $2
of US taxpayers' money to deliver $1 of food aid. This begs a
second question: are there any more cost-effective ways of dealing
with disasters?
The Disaster Risk Management (DRM) approach goes a long way
to answering both these questions. DRM means the government,
non-government organisations (NGOs), and the UN working in
partnership with communities to identify what the threats are, such as
drought or flood; to analyse how vulnerable a community or country
is to them; and to decide how best to reduce the risks posed by
these events, before they happen.
DRM is not a new concept, but worldwide it remains an under-used
idea: just 0.14 per cent of overseas assistance is allocated
specifically to tackling disaster risk. Nor is DRM the whole answer:
without longer-term development of livelihoods, for instance through
improvements in natural resource management and farming
practices, Ethiopians will still be vulnerable to shocks such as
drought; and in the meantime emergency aid will still be required.
But framing the response to disasters within DRM, as the Ethiopian
government is now trying to do, compared with the current over-
reliance on band-aid responses, is:
Over the past 25 years, the advantages of this DRM approach have
become so plain that the remaining question is: why it is not already
the guiding approach to disasters in Ethiopia? Donors in particular
have further to go to link humanitarian response to development, but
all humanitarian stakeholders have a role in making DRM common
practice:
after the famine
22 October, 2009 | ReliefWeb
Source: Oxfam
Summary
In 1984, one million Ethiopians died during a catastrophic famine.
The government at the time hid the scale of hunger until a shocking
BBC television report ignited a massive relief effort, supported by
the Band Aid movement. Though this was too late for too many,
thousands of lives were saved.
The severity of suffering seen 25 years ago has not returned to
Ethiopia. But, as we are seeing again this year, drought still plagues
the country. Oxfam estimates that drought costs Ethiopia roughly
$1.1bn a year – almost eclipsing the total annual overseas assistance
to the country. The damage done by drought could increase too.
Climatic projections predict that, by the 50th anniversary of the
1984 famine, what we now call drought will be the norm, hitting the
region in three years out of four.
- Each drought
demands that the
government co-
ordinate timely
humanitarian
response, but we
have to ask: what can
be done to prevent
the next drought from
becoming a disaster?
The humanitarian
aids' such as imported food aid. This saves lives now, but it does
little to help communities withstand the next shock.
Seventy per cent of humanitarian aid to Ethiopia comes from the
USA. Most of this is 'in-kind' food aid, subject to conditions which
have nothing to do with development and mean that it costs up to $2
of US taxpayers' money to deliver $1 of food aid. This begs a
second question: are there any more cost-effective ways of dealing
with disasters?
The Disaster Risk Management (DRM) approach goes a long way
to answering both these questions. DRM means the government,
non-government organisations (NGOs), and the UN working in
partnership with communities to identify what the threats are, such as
drought or flood; to analyse how vulnerable a community or country
is to them; and to decide how best to reduce the risks posed by
these events, before they happen.
DRM is not a new concept, but worldwide it remains an under-used
idea: just 0.14 per cent of overseas assistance is allocated
specifically to tackling disaster risk. Nor is DRM the whole answer:
without longer-term development of livelihoods, for instance through
improvements in natural resource management and farming
practices, Ethiopians will still be vulnerable to shocks such as
drought; and in the meantime emergency aid will still be required.
But framing the response to disasters within DRM, as the Ethiopian
government is now trying to do, compared with the current over-
reliance on band-aid responses, is:
- More cost-effective: aiming to reduce the need for expensive
emergency response; for instance, in a drought providing food
in exchange for work on a water conservation project that
increases farmers' productivity
- More sustainable: within DRM, immediate needs are met but
there is greater focus on how communities can prepare for the
next disaster. DRM gives communities, and especially
women, the dignity of building on their assets, abilities, and
practices;
- Better suited to the situation of Ethiopians: the DRM
approach emphasises local capacity, where people are best
placed to understand and address the risks.
Over the past 25 years, the advantages of this DRM approach have
become so plain that the remaining question is: why it is not already
the guiding approach to disasters in Ethiopia? Donors in particular
have further to go to link humanitarian response to development, but
all humanitarian stakeholders have a role in making DRM common
practice:
- The Ethiopian government should bring together all relevant
actors, including national civil society and donors, to lead a
co-ordinated, ambitious approach to disasters that targets
vulnerability and disaster risk, especially linked to climate
change.
- The Ethiopian government should also ensure that all those
affected by humanitarian disasters get the right aid at the right
time.
- Donors should increase investment in building communities'
resilience to disasters and alternatives to imported food aid,
including investment in local and regional production.
- The World Food Programme (WFP) should make their
emergency food aid programmes contribute more to
sustainable development.
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