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Donors rescue Ethiopia
25/09/2003 16:03 - (SA)
Rome - Generosity by the international community has helped prevent a humanitarian disaster in food-short Ethiopia this year, a UN food agency said.
The response to appeals for aid in Ethiopia has been "unprecedented," the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a statement on Thursday.
The agency appealed for $7.7m in still more aid to deal with the food shortages and malnutrition persisting in the country.
This year governments, agencies and non-government aid organisations had been quick to respond, said an economist for the UN agency, Shukri Ahmed.
"The credit goes to the international community which took the responsibility seriously and responded in a very generous manner," said Ahmed.
Ahmed also said that the relief efforts were better co-ordinated than in previous years thanks to donor networks that help organise the aid.
While immediate food requirements had largely been met, money is still needed for seeds, livestock and other necessities.
The current appeal for Ethiopian farmers is still an emergency appeal, but, Ahmed said, it is one that concerns "rehabilitation rather than lifesaving."
Thirteen million people in Ethiopia still need assistance, the agency said.
One of the worst droughts to hit the Horn of Africa in several decades devastated Ethiopian agriculture.
- SAPA
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