Ethiopia food crisis
A prolonged drought, brought on by four years of poor rains, led to a complete crop failure in certain areas of south-east Ethiopia last year. With your support we reached over 500,000 people with life-saving aid.
Tasfa, 13, feeds her younger sister Shishig, 14 months, with nutrient-rich peanut paste at a therapeutic feeding centre in North Wollo, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The clinic is run through our support.
The impact of Ethiopia’s drought was made worse by conflict, climate change, government land policies, rising food prices and population growth.
6.2 million Ethiopians were in need of emergency food assistance – half of them were children. Hungry children are vulnerable to contracting acute watery diarrhoea, which can be life threatening.
We spent £58,000 from our Children’s Emergency Fund, which allows us to respond immediately to a crisis, and launched our appeal. Through your generosity we raised a further £514,073.
What we did with your support
We helped some of the most vulnerable communities reaching over 500,000 people.
- We helped 274,694 people (around 40,000 families) who didn’t have enough to eat by giving them small but regular amounts of cash or food so that they could provide nutritious, regular meals for their families. The decision to give food or cash is affected by factors such as availability of food in the local markets. We are continuing to help vulnerable families.
- Over the past year we’ve provided the families of 51,683 children with other ways to earn a living, providing training in carpentry, tailoring, silk production and bee-keeping so they can diversify their sources of income.
Even though the appeal has now closed, we will continue to monitor the situation and provide information to the government and other agencies so that whenever food shortages arise, we can all act quickly. We continue to treat malnourished children in the areas where we work, and improve their access to health care.
You can help us reach children in other emergencies by supporting our Children’s Emergency Fund.
Photo story of our response
Thomas, 1, has his arm circumference measured at Tulla Health Center in Southern Ethiopia. His mother has brought him to Save the Children's clinic to be tested for severe malnutrition.
Thomas has a weight and height test.
Mothers and children wait at Tulla Health Center.
Matheos and his wife Ayalech are parents of four young children. Like many other poor families they are suffering from the food crisis.
Ayalech cooks salty wild cabbage for her 4 children. With no other food available the family eat this 3 times a day.
Save the Children staff nurse Yenealem Alemu, 45, talks to a child at Danama Health Centre.
Save the Children staff nurse Hasan Ibrahim measures Maru, 3.
Thomas has his ankles inspected as part of a screening for symptoms of severe acute malnutrition.
Sister Almaz, a nurse, checks a child's temperature.
A child eats therapeutic food.