USAID Expedites Emergency Food Aid
August 25th, 2008 at 10:14 am | posted by Chris.ScottI just wanted to drop a quick update about USAID’s efforts to provide immediate relief to the ongoing food crisis in Ethiopia. As you may know, Ethiopia and other countries in the Horn of Africa have been hit especially hard by the rise in food and fuel prices and drought. In July, the UN warned that more than 14 million people in the region are in need of emergency food aid, with 10.3 million in Ethiopia alone. This new U.S. shipment is an important step in meeting Ethiopia’s urgent food needs and should be accompanied by new investments in agricultural productivity to target long-term food security and help Ethiopia become self-sufficient.
Excerpt below, full piece here.
The shipment includes 9,390 MT of split yellow peas, 6,150 MT of vegetable oil, 6,320 MT of corn soy blend, and 1,400 MT of wheat flour, the agency said in a statement.
“This is only one of multiple strategies USAID is implementing to alleviate impacts of the world food crisis in that region and elsewhere around the world”, it said.
Accordingly, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace plans to provide over 1 million MT of food, valued at more than $857 million, to Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti in fiscal year 2008 in response to the drought emergency affecting the Horn of Africa.
-Chris Scott
August 25th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
This is a good news for short-term in meeting Ethiopia’s urgent food needs. This is just a temporary solution. Ethiopia have been through in this kind of situation for the last two, three decades. What we need is a long term resolution. We have to educate our people. I as an Ethiopian American who lives in the states would like to help my people. We have to invest in agriculture and technology. Most of the farmers in Ehtiopia rely on the rainy season to do their farming. We have to teach them how to use irrigation system. I am very very sad to see this thing happens again and again. This is 2008 and no one in this world should be starving.
August 26th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Agreed, Natnael (and I know I speak for many caring ONE members, many who have much more time and expertise in this field than I do). I know the focus these days is on long-term, sustainable solutions, and I pray these long-term solutions for Ethiopia will soon be a reality for you and your countrypeople. Thank you so much for your comments here.