Famine Relief in Ethiopia

I’ve been corresponding with EthiopiAID, a UK-based charity focused on Ethiopia.  Please see part of the correspondence with them, below.  We have decided to donate a portion of profits from sale of Ethiopian coffees to EthiopiAID.  Our donation is nothing compared to the $70 million sent by the US last week, but every bit helps.  Seems right given the terrific coffee we get from Ethiopia.

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Hi Jim,

Thanks for your email.

In an average year, between 2 and 4 million Ethiopians are unable to produce or buy sufficient food for themselves and their families. This year, the number could rise up to 12 million. Ethiopia is now facing another widespread famine, with disastrous consequences for its people.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported that supplies of major crops have been severely depleted due to drought and disease. Many crops such as sweet potato, haricot beans, cabbages and green maize have totally failed as a result of the extended dry season.

Communities affected by the famine are resorting to extreme coping mechanisms. Many teachers have requested to receive food in place of their usual salary. Farmers and herders are selling their livestock and leaving their land. Families are selling everything they own to pay for the scarce food available. The famine is forcing thousands of children out of school.

It is vital that food aid reaches the millions affected by the famine before they have nothing left to secure their survival.

Ethiopiaid is targeting famine relief to children under five and their families affected by drought in the Arsi Negele and Shashemene Districts in Southern Ethiopia. Over the next three months we are aim to provide food to 7,500 starving individuals, 4,000 of whom are children under the age of five.

Our partners in Ethiopia recently visited two rescue centres where medical assistance is being given to about 600 severely malnourished children, some of whom are on the verge of death. Anxious mothers were waiting outside the centres’ gates, with dying children in their arms. Many more children are believed to be in the same predicament but have not been able to reach a rescue centre.

Our partners estimate that five to six children are dying at these centres every day. Your donation could save a life – please give what you can.

The Facts

• The government says 75,000 children are severely malnourished,
although the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF gave a higher estimate of
126,000 children.
• As many as half of the 75,000 children in desperate need will die
unless aid arrives soon.
• The number of Ethiopians in need of emergency food aid has risen to
4.5 million after one of the country’s worst droughts in years. This
number is almost equivalent to the entire population of the Republic
of Ireland.
• Emergency feeding centres have been overwhelmed with families hoping
to save their severely malnourished loved ones.

‘The children are in terrible condition. If they don’t get the support they need, between 25 and 50 percent of those starving will die.’  UNICEF

I hope this information is useful.

Kind regards,

Sally Buckley
Manager
Ethiopiaid UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7201 9981
Fax: +44 (0)20 7201 9988
http://www.ethiopiaid.org.uk