– ‘Last hope’ –
Aisha Nour, the mother of a malnourished two-year-old girl leaves with a few packs of food supplements and bags of wheat loaded onto a donkey. “We eat pancakes from sorghum and wheat, that’s all, no milk or oil,” she said.
The rains are making things worse.
“Roads are turning into raging rivers and our trucks carrying food assistance are unable to reach many communities,” warned the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) aid agency.
Weakened without water and food, the lashing cold rains are now killing the livestock that provides for many people their last lifeline.
“The rain has led to livestock deaths that in their weakened state are more susceptible to illnesses. For many this was the last hope they had,” said Mohamed Hassan, NRC operations chief in the eastern Jigjiga district.
Faced with the food crisis, the Ethiopian government has allocated $766 million in emergency aid. Donor countries have also promised aid, but there is still a worrying $600 million shortfall from the $1.4 billion needed.
“The Middle East and the migrant crisis has diverted attention from our partners,” said Minister for Food Security Mitiku Kassa.
Aid agencies are worried too.
“Last year, many farmers had little or no harvest,” said Save the Children’s chief in Ethiopia, John Graham.
“There are millions of people who will be increasingly hungry until the next harvest, September at the earliest.”
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