Ethiopia drought 'alarming'

2006-02-15 22:14

Rome - Famine conditions in southeastern Ethiopia are causing severe food shortages for more than one million people, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned on Wednesday.

In an $18.5m emergency appeal, the Rome-based organisation said the Somali and Oromiya regions were particularly hard hit.

FAO's head of emergency operations Anne Bauer described the situation as "alarming".

Autumn rains had failed and the situation was made worse by an influx of "large numbers" of livestock from drought-affected regions of Kenya and Somalia, the FAO said.

"Initial estimates indicate more than one million people in Somali Region alone require immediate assistance to stave off starvation, and the onset of the dry season from January to March is expected to worsen the situation," the organisation said.

The money is needed to support emergency animal health measures to save lifestock, provide crop seeds and emergency irrigation schemes.

The FAO said it was also working with the government to ensure strong surveillance and monitoring measures to guard against the threat of potentially devastating bird flu.

- SAPA