NEW FOOD CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA
According
to a study conducted by the UN and the Ethiopian government, more than eight
million people in Ethiopia need food assistance, as two consecutive years of
drought have affected several regions of the country.
More than
80% of the Ethiopian population works in agriculture, which continues to be the
prime financial income of the country. For that reason, the always tenuous
situation becomes even more complicated when there are droughts. At present, in
addition to drought, there is another equally dangerous threat: meteorological
agencies have warned about possible strong rains and flooding in the next
weeks, which would destroy the existing harvests and worsen the situation even
more.
Thirty
years ago, in the 80s, Ethiopia suffered a great famine that drew world
attention. Since then the country’s economy has been improving up to the point
of positioning itself among the emerging economies of Africa. However, in spite
of the development of schools, roads, and hospitals under the current
government, which has been in power since 1990, many people continue to live in
extreme poverty. They are now experiencing more and more cases of infant
malnutrition. Even though the government has begun to distribute sacks of grain
and wheat among the affected communities, Ethiopians are hoping, once more, for
help from outside to be able to overcome this new food crisis. For our part, we
will continue contributing with our Community’s projects to strengthen the health
and living conditions of the rural population in the area of Meki.
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