Drought Returns to Ethiopia

CHAN: In Ethiopia, a recent drought has caused a food crisis. U.N. Children's Agency, UNICEF estimates that 126,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition.

STORY:
UNICEF says 6 million Ethiopian children under the age of five may be at risk of malnutrition.

The U.N. World Food Program or WPF estimates 3.4 million, of the 80 million people in Ethiopia, will need food relief from July to September.

But the government and aid agencies are struggling to find money to help, with international food prices rising sharply.

The WPF needs to raise 147 million U.S. dollars to tackle Ethiopia's needs. Aid workers say the money isn't coming in time, with donors concentrating on disaster-hit China and Burma.

A farmer brought his most severely malnourished daughter to the UNICEF-supported feeding unit in East Harerghe for treatment.

[Ibro Bekeri Yusuf, Farmer]:
"I have seven children and we were all doing well until the price
of everything went up and then the rainfall failed to come."

Ethiopia, is sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous nation. It was
cited as an example to other African countries after reducing its infant mortality rate from 166 deaths down to 123, for every 1,000 births in just five
years.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Drought
• Returns
• to
• Ethiopia
• Africa
• ntdtv
• ntd
• food
• crisis
• news