Ethiopia aid call for 6.2 million people

ETHIOPIA has said it needs emergency food aid for 6.2 million people.

The crisis stems from a prolonged drought that has hit much of the Horn of Africa, including Kenya and Somalia.

Drought is especially disastrous in Ethiopia because more than 80% of people live off the land.

Mitiku Kassa, Ethiopia’s state minister for agriculture and rural development, appealed to donors yesterday for more than $121 million. In January, he had said that 4.9 million of Ethiopia’s 85 million people needed emergency food aid.

Ethiopia has long struggled with cyclical droughts, which are compounded by the country’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture and archaic farming practices.

In 1984, Ethiopia’s famine drew international attention as news reports showed emaciated children. The crisis launched one of the biggest global charity campaigns in history, including the concert Live Aid.

This year’s drought appears to be slightly less severe than the one last year, which was exacerbated by high food prices.

But humanitarian groups have said that they believe the number of people affected by hunger is higher than government estimates.