Drought and Famine:
Ethiopia's Vicious Cycle Continues
15 July, 2009 | by Kassahun Addis
(TIME)
As Ethiopia remains caught in a deadly cycle of drought and famine, aid
agencies warn that erratic rainfall and ever-rising food costs are
compounding the problems carried over from last year's drought to
leave 6.2 million people in need of food assistance, on top of the 7.5
million already getting aid from the government.
Close to 14 million Ethiopians — 20% of the country's total population
— now have difficulty finding enough to eat, including, according to
UNICEF, 62,000 children under five in the worst-affected areas who
received treatment for severe acute malnutrition during the first half of
2009. And that number is set to rise. "There are growing concerns
about the impact of relief food shortfalls on already vulnerable children,"
UNICEF said on Aug. 6. "As therapeutic feeding programs reach more
hot-spot districts, the number of severely malnourished children
receiving treatment will increase." The U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) says the problem in the ethnic Somali region,
Ogaden, is complicated even further due to "insurgent activity and
security operations" that are disrupting trade networks and the
movement of people and livestock.
(See pictures of Ethiopia's harvest of hunger.)
Reports of rising numbers of nutrition-related deaths and illnesses in
Ethiopia are coming out amid tense times for humanitarian organizations,
who face various obstacles in their attempts to deal with the effects of
the drought. Unlike in previous years, the current crisis is not getting
much play in the media. Part of the reason could be that after last year's
drought put Ethiopia in the headlines, the country's government — no
fan of negative attention — decided this time to take matters of food
relief into its own hands, pushing international NGOs to the sidelines.
"Giving publicity to the issue angered the government so much that this
year they decided to handle most of the activities by themselves, far
away from the spotlight of non-governmental actors," a coordinator of a
European NGO (who requested anonymity) tells TIME.
(See pictures on the front lines of hunger.)
Earlier this year, Ethiopia's parliament passed a tough new law seeking
to regulate charities and foreign humanitarian groups in the country. The
law, which labels as foreign any local organization that gets more than
10% of its funding from abroad, restricts charity work on issues related
to gender, ethnicity, children's rights and conflict resolution, and bars
advocacy activities. The government says the law is meant to ensure
that charities focus on development, but many fear it will deter those
working in the field from taking bold actions like advocating for the
hungry.
International aid organizations are also struggling with a shortage of
supplies. So far this year, donors have contributed a total in cash and
kind of almost $176 million, equivalent to 271,000 metric tons of food
— less than 50% of last year's contributions. Many aid workers blame
the financial crisis, but while recession-hit donors are keeping their
wallets closed, the situation in Ethiopia is only getting more urgent.
(Read: "Ethiopia: Pain amid Plenty.")
Ethiopia's rain-fed agriculture is "shockingly vulnerable" to small
variations in the patterns of rainfall, says one Western diplomat, and the
country has no chance to recover from the last drought before the next
one hits. "The impact of last year works through this year," says
Jolanda Hogenkamp, the World Food Program's Deputy Head of
Programs in Ethiopia. "The picture we see now is more or less the same
as last year. Largely the same numbers and same areas." (Read:
"Famine: Hunger Stalks Ethiopia Once Again.")
Another top Western diplomat puts it more plainly: "This year's problem
is very serious because last year's was serious." And with aid funding
drying up and the Ethiopian government restricting help from NGOs,
next year can only be more serious still.
Courtesy
Ethiopia's Vicious Cycle Continues
15 July, 2009 | by Kassahun Addis
(TIME)
As Ethiopia remains caught in a deadly cycle of drought and famine, aid
agencies warn that erratic rainfall and ever-rising food costs are
compounding the problems carried over from last year's drought to
leave 6.2 million people in need of food assistance, on top of the 7.5
million already getting aid from the government.
Close to 14 million Ethiopians — 20% of the country's total population
— now have difficulty finding enough to eat, including, according to
UNICEF, 62,000 children under five in the worst-affected areas who
received treatment for severe acute malnutrition during the first half of
2009. And that number is set to rise. "There are growing concerns
about the impact of relief food shortfalls on already vulnerable children,"
UNICEF said on Aug. 6. "As therapeutic feeding programs reach more
hot-spot districts, the number of severely malnourished children
receiving treatment will increase." The U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) says the problem in the ethnic Somali region,
Ogaden, is complicated even further due to "insurgent activity and
security operations" that are disrupting trade networks and the
movement of people and livestock.
(See pictures of Ethiopia's harvest of hunger.)
Reports of rising numbers of nutrition-related deaths and illnesses in
Ethiopia are coming out amid tense times for humanitarian organizations,
who face various obstacles in their attempts to deal with the effects of
the drought. Unlike in previous years, the current crisis is not getting
much play in the media. Part of the reason could be that after last year's
drought put Ethiopia in the headlines, the country's government — no
fan of negative attention — decided this time to take matters of food
relief into its own hands, pushing international NGOs to the sidelines.
"Giving publicity to the issue angered the government so much that this
year they decided to handle most of the activities by themselves, far
away from the spotlight of non-governmental actors," a coordinator of a
European NGO (who requested anonymity) tells TIME.
(See pictures on the front lines of hunger.)
Earlier this year, Ethiopia's parliament passed a tough new law seeking
to regulate charities and foreign humanitarian groups in the country. The
law, which labels as foreign any local organization that gets more than
10% of its funding from abroad, restricts charity work on issues related
to gender, ethnicity, children's rights and conflict resolution, and bars
advocacy activities. The government says the law is meant to ensure
that charities focus on development, but many fear it will deter those
working in the field from taking bold actions like advocating for the
hungry.
International aid organizations are also struggling with a shortage of
supplies. So far this year, donors have contributed a total in cash and
kind of almost $176 million, equivalent to 271,000 metric tons of food
— less than 50% of last year's contributions. Many aid workers blame
the financial crisis, but while recession-hit donors are keeping their
wallets closed, the situation in Ethiopia is only getting more urgent.
(Read: "Ethiopia: Pain amid Plenty.")
Ethiopia's rain-fed agriculture is "shockingly vulnerable" to small
variations in the patterns of rainfall, says one Western diplomat, and the
country has no chance to recover from the last drought before the next
one hits. "The impact of last year works through this year," says
Jolanda Hogenkamp, the World Food Program's Deputy Head of
Programs in Ethiopia. "The picture we see now is more or less the same
as last year. Largely the same numbers and same areas." (Read:
"Famine: Hunger Stalks Ethiopia Once Again.")
Another top Western diplomat puts it more plainly: "This year's problem
is very serious because last year's was serious." And with aid funding
drying up and the Ethiopian government restricting help from NGOs,
next year can only be more serious still.
Courtesy
| Haile Selassie I Appeal To The League Of Nations "Apart from the Kingdom of the Lord there is not on this earth any nation that is superior to any other.... More |
| All rights reserved. |
| Ethio Quest News Together We Can Make It! |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Ethio Quest News: For latest Ethiopian News, views, Reviews and More |
| Food Security Spotlight |
| A moment of euphoria and grief for Ethiopia " We just could not figure out the possible response of those who tried hard to alienate portion of Ethiopians from a rightful entitlement to such a..." OMFEU Africa's Unique Cultures, ancient faith coexist in Ethiopia |
| Alemayehu Gemeda of Ethio Tube and Google Ethiopia " I am nowhere near the great Ethiopian inventor Engineer Ayana Birru. He was one of a kind. He was there when Amharic language needed...More Famine fighters Mother (Enate) Abebech Gobena |
| Adwa " After Adwa, Ethiopia became emblematic of African valour and resistance, the bastion of prestige and hope to thousands of Africans who were experiencing the full..." More |
| Living history in Ethiopia " It becomes abundantly clear that this mountainous country in the Horn of Africa contains treasures that should be on every history buff's wish list." More |
| Related Stories Ethiopia’s food security continues to decline Afrol News Southern region gripped by food shortage IRIN Amid hunger, foreign companies in race to 'grab' Ethiopia's arable land By Argaw Ashine Food crisis blamed on disastrous policy compounded by killer disease in Amhara region By Desalegn Sisay Poor reporting impacts nutritional response ReliefWeb |
| Ethiopian Scientist Wins World Food Prize "Ejeta, a distinguished professor of agronomy at Purdue University, designed sorghum hybrid seeds that are resistant to drought and crippling weeds and have led to boosting the food.....More |
| An Interview with Bekele Geleta "Many in the Red Cross believe Bekele is particularly suited to the task. A gentleman with a courtly manner and a twinkle in his eye, Bekele is...More |
| 1970-85 Famine Blamed on Pollution " The short- lived pollution particles, known as aerosols, didn't have to travel to Africa to do their dirty work. Instead, they were able to alter the physics of cloud formation miles away ...More |
