http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/03/13/world-overlooks-ethiopia-drought-crisis-leaving-millions-hungry/81550866/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories
World overlooks Ethiopia drought crisis that is leaving millions hungry
Sophie Cousins and Special for USA TODAY , WTSP 7:24 AM. EST March 13, 2016
FENTALE, Ethiopia — Sitting in the blistering sun as she cradles her
2-month-old baby, Genet Tamisat is one of hundreds of mothers waiting
to have their children checked for malnutrition, as Ethiopia faces its
worst drought in decades.
“I have nothing to eat at home. I can’t even buy maize by myself,”
said Tamisat, who also has a 4-year-old son. “People can look at us
and think we’re OK, but we are in great danger. We have nothing.”
Despite the crisis confronting Tamisat and millions of other
Ethiopians lacking food and drinking water, a world caught up in
strife is paying insufficient attention to their plight, because it is
distracted by other urgent needs.
The government and the United Nations are trying to raise $1.4 billion
to feed 10.2 million Ethiopians, but only half has come through so
far, as the wars in Syria and Yemen plus the migrant crisis dominate
the news.
“Fundraising for this response has been very slow," said Chege Ngugi,
national director of the charity ChildFund Ethiopia. "My priority is
to support the efforts of the government of Ethiopia to save lives,
but we’re not reaching everybody.”
A strong El Nino has blocked two consecutive rainy seasons that
normally nourish crops that feed 85% of the country. The drought has
forced the government to find additional food aid from the United
States and other donors.
The U.S. Agency for International Development dispatched an response
team to Ethiopia to provide emergency assistance that includes nearly
$4 million in corn and wheat seeds for more than 200,000 families.
Amina Hussein's malnourished baby girl Safiya Amano is assessed by a
health extension worker at the Halo Health Post in Ogolcho in
Ethiopia's drought affected Oromia region. (Photo: Colin Cosier,
AFP/Getty Images) (Photo: Associated Press)
Here in the Oromia region, which includes central Ethiopia, the land
is arid as far as the eye can see. Animal carcasses — some fresh, some
old — are scattered across patches of dusty earth.
Ethiopian rainfall map. (George Petras, USA TODAY) (Photo: Associated Press)
Humanitarian needs in this Horn of Africa country have tripled since
the start of 2015 as the situation deteriorates.
Malnutrition rates in the worst-affected areas have surpassed 20% —
higher than the World Health Organization’s emergency threshold of
15%, said Challiss McDonough, regional spokeswoman for the U.N.'s
World Food Programme.
This year, the food program will help more than 2 million children,
pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers suffering from moderate
acute malnutrition.
The U.N.’s children’s fund, UNICEF, estimates that almost 500,000
children need treatment for severe acute malnutrition.
“Even with interventions, the situation is getting worse,” said Eyoel
Lemma, who works at ChildFund Ethiopia in Fentale.
He said ChildFund, with help from the U.N., also provides
supplementary food and malnutrition treatment to children under age 5.
But that becomes a major difficulty as families migrate to different
areas looking for water and pasture for their livestock, as well as to
find jobs.
Residents of the Ziway Dugda district of Ethiopia wait for food at the
Ogolcha food center. (Photo: Mulugeta Ayene, AP) (Photo:
Associated Press)
As a result, many people miss out on the food rationing programs.
One woman on the move is Haso Bultum, 27. After hours of walking in
the sun across barren mountains, she reached a rural health care
facility here in Fentale with her malnourished 9-month-old twins.
“It’s very hard. I’ve had no sleep, because we’re trying to find some
food for our cattle,” she said. “To save ourselves we’re constantly
moving.”
While Ethiopia has the fastest growing economy in the world and has
lifted millions of citizens out of poverty, the reality is that 80% of
Ethiopians are still dependent on agriculture.
Workers move sacks of emergency food supplies in and out of Ethiopia's
largest strategic grain reserve depot in Adama. (Photo: Colin
Cosier, AFP/Getty Images) (Photo: Associated Press)
McDonough from the World Fund Programme warned that her organization
could run out of food within two months.
“We have been calling for urgent funding for months now, and still
have only about a quarter of the resources that we need for the next
six months. Unless we receive significant new funding very soon, we
could start running out of food for relief assistance by May,”
McDonough said.
Samuel Ferfu, manager of the Children’s and Family Charitable
Organization in Fentale, said another major issue is the lack of
access to water. Almost 6 million people need emergency water,
according to UNICEF.
“There’s no water at all — the river is dry,” he said. “No water makes
sanitation impossible, and as a result, the prevalence of disease will
increase.”
For the time being, Ethiopians are praying that rain will reach the
worst-affected areas, but flooding is a serious risk after a lengthy
drought.
“Soon the rain will come, and people’s worries will be flooding. But
they have nothing except their homes to lose. They’ve already lost all
their animals and crops,” said Lemma from ChildFund Ethiopia.
For Tamisat, 27, and her young children, talk of rain in the coming
months is a false hope.
“We have no water and no food," she said, wiping sweat off her
forehead. "I don’t know what is coming for the future, but I have no
hope about the rain.”
Received on Sun Mar 13 2016 - 12:19:49 EDT