Number 1 Ethiopia and Eritrea
Addis Ababa (Fides Service) - As promised on January 8, Fides Service offers the first info sheet of its Map of food emergency situation in Africa. The regions of Ethiopia where people suffer most from lack of food are Afar, Tigray, Oromiya Gambella, Dire Dawa and Harari. The main cause was severe drought all through 2002, which made the price of available grain rocket and de-valued that of livestock, reduced to skin and bones due to lack of food and water. As the situation get worse more people are in danger of starving to death. In the worst hit regions, between 10% and 15% of children under 5 suffer from acute malnutrition.
According to reports by the United Nations Organisation and the Ethiopian government in 2003 no less than 11.3 million people will die unless immediate aid is provided. It is estimated that some 1.4 million tons of food are necessary to feed the people, about 3 million whose situation is precarious although not dramatic.
Compared to the drought related food crisis in 1984-85, which left millions dead, this crisis is far more serious for the following reasons. More people are at risk 11 million compared to 8 million; income per head has dropped from US$ 190 in 1981 to 108 in 2001.
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