1. Why has the drought and food shortage arisen?
The current situation has been caused by the failure of the Belg and Kirmet rains for almost four years, sporadic heavy rains, climactic change, and the consequent crop failures. The famine affects seven countries in the Horn – Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Eritrea, Uganda and Djibouti. Ethiopia is, however, the worst affected.
2.
What is the government’s assessment of the current situation?
The affected areas of the
country are predominantly in the south, south-east and east. About 8 million
people – 11% of the Ethiopian population - are affected. The Disaster
Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) estimate that almost 900,000
tonnes of food aid are required, assuming that the Belg harvest expected in June
will be normal. The current delay in the Belg rain has been such that this is
unlikely, and so relief needs are expected to increase in June.
The Government has appealed for a total of 898,936 tonnes of food, as well as
USD 31,612,822 in non-food aid (water, health, veterinary and so on) and USD
12,957,724 in capacity building requirements to strengthen emergency operations.
Food pledges officially made so far (as at 10th April 2000) are:
USA/WFP: 160,500MT
USA/NGOs: 54,190MT
WFP: 13,000MT
Canada/WFP: 9,000MT
UK:
Germany: 1,550MT
WVIE: 3,871MT
Total:
248,351MT
In addition, the Government of Ethiopia has pledged 100,000MT
In any case, pledges are not enough. It is the delivery of aid that is required.
The
drought and food shortage has not suddenly happened – the government and the
DPPC have been warning about this particular situation for months, and about the
ongoing rain failures for several years, and appealing to the international
community for assistance all along the way. Had the calls for assistance been
heeded earlier, Ethiopia would now be in a much stronger position.
3. What is
being done?
The Government’s first priority since 1991 has been to improve the country’s ability to manage such crises, but Ethiopia is a very large and very poor country, that was left in a devastated state by the previous (Derg) regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam, and it will take many more years of continued, massive investment and education before the impact of drought can be managed by Ethiopia alone, and food security can be assured for all.
The Government has been making strenuous efforts since 1991 to avert any repeat of 1984. It has been working continually to improve infrastructure, agricultural methods and training for farmers to alleviate the impact of rain and crop failure.
· It has embarked on a massive road building and improvement programme to ensure that supplies can be moved around.
· It funds various institutions and programmes to provide improved seed stock, fertilisers and other essential agricultural supplies to improve crop yields and survivability.
· It established the DPPC (Disaster Prevention & Preparedness Commission), which operates a comprehensive range of programmes designed to provide early warning, and appropriate responses, to impending crises. Two key and relevant examples of these programmes are:
· An Early Warning System that monitors and warns of disasters ahead of time and triggers appropriate preventative measures. It monitors food security factors from household to national levels. It is an inter-agency initiative and it issues early warning reports to the Government, donors and the international community.
· The Emergency Food Security Reserve, which provides relief food on a loan basis in times of emergency. It had stocks, built up since 1994/5, of over 315,500 tonnes, but these have been depleted by loans of grain provided to donor countries and aid agencies that have yet to be repaid.
These are:
World Food Programme – 99,776.50 MT
United States Agency for International Development – 93,517.06MT
European Union – 80,867.65MT
The Netherlands – 15,000MT
Canada – 385.47MT
Germany – 17.00MT
Giving a total of 292,449.54MT borrowed and not repaid.
A
total of 101,000MT of grain has been dispatched to all the drought affected
areas by both the DPPC and NGOs between January and March 2000, and the Ministry
of Health has dispatched essential medicines to address health problems. About
109MT of supplementary food and 30 rolls of plastic sheet have been airlifted to
Gode, and water tankering by regional governments is underway to address the
water shortage problem in Somali Region, Borena and South Omo.
The supply of fodder to the most affected areas in Borena is underway, and six teams from the Federal DPPC have been assigned to zones in the Somali Region to co-ordinate and monitor the relief operation at field level. The DPPC and the region are also establishing feeding centres in Somali in addition to programmes run by NGOs.
4.
What should be done?
5.
What is the difference between 1984 and now?
Although we are facing a situation of the same scale as 1984, the situation is not identical. If the donor community responds now to the situation, a repeat of 1984 can be averted.
Ethiopia has changed dramatically in the past eight years. Since the overthrow of the Derg regime in 1991, Ethiopia has been a democracy and the government has been working continually to improve infrastructure, agricultural methods and training for farmers to alleviate the impact of rain failure and crop failure. Food security and self-sufficiency is the number one priority of the government.
It should also be pointed out that Ethiopia has not been in the grip of drought and food shortages since 1984. Indeed, the improvements in agriculture and infrastructure since 1991, as well as favourable climactic conditions, meant that Ethiopia actually exported food to neighbouring countries in both 1996 and 1997. The problems since then have been unfavourable climactic conditions and the lack of adequate donor response.
6.
What is the effect of the war?
The drought and food shortage are completely unrelated to the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. They are environmental in origin. The conflict is not an issue; the issue is the need for the international community to respond urgently, with practical assistance, to the appeals for help.
The Ethiopian Government has issued guarantees that aid will not be diverted to the war – a war started by Eritrea’s invasion of Ethiopian territory and a war that Ethiopia has consistently worked to end peacefully. Previous aid shipments have not been diverted. The war is being used as a distraction by the international community to divert attention from their slow response to the current crisis.
7.
What about the offer from Eritrea to allow the use of the ports of Assab and
Massawa to import relief supplies?
Lack of adequate ports is not the issue. No port-related problems have been encountered. There are plenty of routes for aid to come in – by sea, land and air. Djibouti is larger, nearer and better equipped than the Eritrean ports and using it would avoid aid being sent through the war zone. Berbera port in northern Somalia could also be used and is nearest to the Ogaden – the main area affected by the drought. In the light of these points, the fact that Berbera port is being ignored whilst much is being made of Assab and Massawa ports casts doubt as to whether the relief operation is the real agenda here.
It should also not be forgotten that the last aid for Ethiopia that was imported via Assab – over 70,000 tonnes sent in May 1998 - was stolen by Eritrea in 1998 to feed its army, and that issue still remains an unresolved matter between the suppliers - the US, Canada and the World Food Programme - and Eritrea.