New E Africa food crisis warning
In pictures: Impending famine »
Rising food prices are putting millions of people in East Africa at risk of severe hunger and destitution, the UK-based charity Oxfam has warned.
Droughts, war and poverty have put an estimated nine to 13 million people in the region in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, it says.
The situation has been made worse by rising food prices, with wheat and rice particularly expensive.
A BBC correspondent in Ethiopia says people are waiting for rain - or death.
The BBC’s Elizabeth Blunt has just travelled to the remote north-eastern Afar region and says people there are eating animal feed, as they cannot afford anything else.
She says the last rain fell in the area eleven months ago and is the second serious drought in the region in three years.
The region’s nomadic people raise animals for a living but many camels have died and some people are selling their goats in order to buy food.
She says the local shop does have maize but few local people can afford to buy it.
Oxfam is calling on donors to increase aid levels to the region.
“The cost of food has escalated by up to 500% in some places, leaving people who have suffered drought after drought in utter destitution,” says Oxfam’s Rob McNeil, who has just returned from the Somali and Afar regions of Ethiopia.
“Some of the roads we travelled on were littered with dead livestock. There is little or no pasture or water for the animals that people rely upon. People are increasingly becoming desperate.
The call follows another warning on Tuesday from the UN World Food Programme, saying that more than 14 million people in the Horn of Africa needed food aid because of drought and rising food and fuel prices.
Acute malnutrition
In Somalia, the cost of imported rice increased by up to 350% between the beginning of 2007 and May 2008.
In areas of Ethiopia, the price of wheat has more than doubled over a six-month period, and food prices are expected to remain high until the next harvest in October.
In the areas of East Africa heavily dependent on food imports, such as Somalia, global food price rises are making food more expensive.
- In Somalia, 2.6 million (35% of the population) require emergency assistance, Oxfam says. This could increase to half the population of the country (3.5 million) by the end of 2008. Between 18% and 24% of children are acutely malnourished
- In Ethiopia, the government estimates 4.6 million people are now in need of emergency food assistance. This has more than doubled from 2.2 million in need of help at the beginning of this year. Some 75,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition in drought-stricken areas, the government says
- In Turkana, northern Kenya, an Oxfam survey showed 25% of children are suffering from acute malnutrition, the highest in the country
High malnutrition rates have been reported in several parts of Ethiopia and could increase without an immediate increase in humanitarian assistance.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
The dictator buys more arms to kill Ethiopians and somalians while the people are dying like animals. The whole world who is supporting this dictatorship is responsible for every death in that country.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
meches men yedereg rhabe eko evry 10 years yemetal agerachen eske melesn lekeke argut he is just one person who try to save ethiopia from keneget nefese belaw party okey
July 25th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
To Slugger,
Are you saying drought and famine conditions have never happened before the current government came to power? Besides, just from the news, it is a regional problem (East Africa). Hence, I can not get your point for complaining. There are several political issues that you can raise in relation to the current government. But, I do not think it is healthy to complain practically on everything!!
Kebede.
July 27th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Kebede,
Tell me the last time Ethiopia was under a democratic government when it was starved. Also please be kind enough to remind me of one democratic nation that has been starving. Which good east African government are you using as a background to defend Meles and his thugs as a contrast for their common starvation bonanza? Or are you saying it is ok for Ethiopians to starve to death under a dictatorial government because other dictatorial governments are also starving their people?
July 27th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
[…] suspected to have a link with the ruling Woyane regime, are selling now 3 injera for $ 5/bag while Ethiopians are eating animal feed as they can’t afford buying it. Concerned Ethiopians are calling a boycott campaign on imported […]
July 27th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
To Slugger,
Firstly, I was saying there are other more pressing political issues in relation to the government than the issue under discussion, which has to do more with global economic crisis situation.
The other thing I wouyld like to mention is that are you saying the famine situation has to do exclusively with democracy? What do you think of India, is it a democratic country? If that is the case, there is famine situation there and how do you explain that. I believe democratic system is the basis for economic and social betterment, but it is not an end by itself. Irrespective of democratic practice, I think the exising gap between the developed and developing nation will continue to affect the latter especially at times of global economic crisis.
Kebede.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:40 am
hi kebede,
I think the starvation of the Ethiopian people has everything to do with the way this gov has been brutalizing that country. First of all, the land policy in the country is tailored to keep this dictatorship[ in power. Woyane owns the land to use it as a means of intimidating the farmers into loyality.
Besides, draught turns into starvation when it happens to people who live on the edge of survival. And Woyane condemned Ethiopians to live in such a state of condition. Otherwise, nature acts erratic everywhere, and well governed people navigate through it.
I do not agree with the notion that the starvation in Ethiopia is a result of the global economic crisis. Ethiopia’s economy is too insignificant to be affected by wall street or western banking system. Our situation is simple. A dictator is mismanaging the country and as a result folks are dying.
As to India being a democracy and its people starving to death, you are only half right. India is indeed a democracy, but with aggressively growing economy and influence. Indians are not starving by any means. Of course, as a developing nation, they are still in the process of lifting all their citizens out of poverty. That, however, won’t put them alongside sorry cases like Ethiopia’s.
15 years ago Meles Zenawi visited and lectured a college hall full of listeners(I was one of them,) declared that Ethiopia would export surplus food in ten years time. The audience applauded like thunder. Of course I knew he was lying. I knew, for that to happen, he had to institute democratic system that would favor such economic and agricultural activity, and any fool who knew what a woyane was would know that he wouldn’t do that. Obviously I was right. 17 years later woyane is still in food begging business, and poor Ethiopians are busy dying of starvation, while the arable land is being awarded as a personal gift to regional war criminals and dictators.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Hi Slager,
As I was saying from the beggining, there are bigger issues to raise with the ruling government than the famine which, I repeat, has to do more with global crisis. I agree with you in relation to the issues you raised such as land policy, transparency, economic policy etc. There are countless cases to blame the government like corruption, ethnic based politics etc. I think we need to get organized and take some action in relation to the above issues that I believe would bring a positive future to the country.
Meanwhile, I still do not agree with you in relation to the fact that Ethiopia’s economy is too small to be affected by the global economic conditions. I think the issues is not about being big or small economy. The food crisis in Ethiopia and even India has to do with the current global petrol crisis that led to the use of alternative sources of energy (biofuel - maize). Additionally, in the latter case, the emergence of huge middle class that resulted in explosive demand is a cases in point.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:57 am
so what!
July 31st, 2008 at 10:26 am
wey gud weyane yagenew tata.
haw can dirty washers living in the west keep telling us weyane do thid
do that. are you guys think you are educated enough????
shame on your black ass. i can read your commen haw egnorant you guys are. but trying as if you ppl are smart or educated or as a poletitan.
denkim alech yamara gered.
can you guys stop blame game. weyane is one of dimocratic governement in africa. what will you say to mogaby and isayas ass???.
now pls shat the hell up coz you guys make me very angry with your nonsens comment. shame le hodamoch hulu. try to send mony to your ppl. we have enough poletitans. damn shit.