Poor rains and rising food prices have combined to create conditions of acute food insecurity and malnutrition for thousands of children and vulnerable families in Ethiopia.
Thursday 12 June 2008
Following the poor seasonal rains at the beginning of the year, up to 4.6 million people require life saving assistance, with millions more at risk in the coming months. Worst affected parts of the country include Oromia, SNNPR and Somali Regions, while other areas are currently undergoing further assessment.
There is concern that shortages of specialist foods containing nutrients and vitamins may constrain timely responses to young children requiring immediate assistance. Access to food for poorest households is further compromised by the dramatic increases in food prices in recent months, exacerbating underlying trends of recent years.
"Young children are always the most vulnerable to severe malnutrition in situations of food shortages" said David Throp, Country Director for Save the Children UK. "It is imperative that additional resources are found to ensure the rapid start up of nutrition interventions and the continuous availability of critically needed food, particularly for life saving nutritional support for children. The provision of vital health services and support to protect the livelihoods of poor households are urgent priorities".
What we're doing
Save the Children teams are contributing to the national response effort through the provision of technical support to nutrition assessments, and support to the production of early warning reports with regional Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Bureaux in pastoral areas.
Preparation is underway to implement community based feeding programmes in SNNPR, southern Oromia, and Afar Regions, while potential needs in other regions such as Amhara are being closely monitored.
Other ongoing interventions include the delivery of food to chronically food insecure families in Afar, Amhara, and Somali Regions, water and sanitation initiatives, and livelihood support including seed provision and livestock assistance in pastoral areas.
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More information
Read more about the Ethiopia food crisis and what we're doing