Ethiopia needs continued aid, urges charity

THE Irish public need to keep supporting aid and relief efforts in Ethiopia despite the confusing messages emerging about the extent of the famine alert there, the head of one the top development agencies has warned.

Ray Jordan, chief executive of Self Help Africa, said ongoing assistance was essential to ease the effects of the drought which the World Food Programme says is causing severe hardship for 10 million people, almost half of whom are said to be under immediate threat of hunger and malnutrition.

His comments came after seemingly conflicting reports that the rains had returned but that vast tracts of the country faced a water crisis, and that Ethiopian authorities were denying a famine was under way while international agencies were pleading for food aid.