The UN's senior aid official has called for greater international efforts to help millions of Ethiopians suffering from a severe drought.
About eight million people need urgent food relief and another 4.6 million need emergency assistance, accoring to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
John Holmes, the UN's undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, said on Monday: "The response has been good in some ways, but we have a long way to go."
The World Food Programme (WFP) said people were coping by cutting down on the number of meals they eat, selling farm tools and other assets such as livestock and withdrawing their children from school so they can help find food.
A lack of rain in the main February to April wet season has left at least 75,000 Ethiopian children under age five at risk from malnutrition, OCHA said.
"In terms of the urgency of the food crisis, the risk of children dying of severe malnutrition is the most urgent," Holmes said on his way to a southern Ethiopian region devastated by the drought.
The UN appealed in June for $325.2m mainly for drought victims. Only 52 per cent of the appeal has been met.
No comments:
Post a Comment