Help for the Hungry

By Debbie DeVoe

The jutting ribs of cattle along the roadside hint at what lies ahead. After two consecutive seasons of poor rains, pockets of farmland in southern and eastern Ethiopia have produced no crops. Many people in these areas now have nothing—literally nothing—to eat. And with food prices soaring worldwide, they can't afford to buy the dwindling and increasingly expensive supplies in the market.

This spring, thousands of families in drought-affected regions have begun arriving at the doorsteps of health centers and churches seeking assistance. Mothers carrying their near-lifeless children beg for food as their older children whimper at their sides.

In partnership with aid agencies, the Ethiopian government is responding by distributing emergency food rations and setting up feeding sites for malnourished children. But more help is urgently needed.

Treatment Tents

At a local Catholic church in the Oromia region, hundreds of children are receiving therapeutic milk and treatment. In tents hastily pitched on church grounds, family members cradle sick children, who lay unmoving in their embrace.

One mother pulls up the shirt of her young daughter to show matchstick-thin arms hanging limply by a bloated stomach. Another grandfather lovingly supports the back of his grandson's head as he feeds the child sips of milk from a plastic syringe. The boy, who looks about 5, simply doesn't have the energy to take in food any other way.

Through feedings every three hours, these children are incrementally regaining their health. Severely malnourished children are looked after by medical staff in a critical care tent. Meanwhile, in another tent, moderately malnourished children receive a special milk formula. After a few days, they move to the next tent where family members feed them a more substantial milk treatment, followed by a therapeutic peanut spread.

Once children return to stable health, they are able to go home, taking along a week's worth of food. They then visit the feeding site each week for weighing and measuring to ensure continued good health, receiving additional food supplies as needed.

"Catholic Relief Services is helping our local diocesan partners to feed people severely impacted by this year's drought. Loaned trucks and drivers are also enabling partner staff to visit remote villages and bring in the most malnourished children for immediate treatment," explains Shane Lennon, CRS' head of programming in Ethiopia. "With every passing day, though, the number of people arriving at emergency feeding sites continues to grow. We are seeking additional funding to provide substantially more food in response to this crisis."

Appeal for Assistance

Ironically, many of the pockets most affected by drought this year are located within some of Ethiopia's most productive agricultural regions. These poor, rural farm families are made up of hard-working people who are usually able to grow enough food to meet their needs. Fighting to overcome considerable obstacles each season, sometimes they lose the battle.

In other, less-productive areas, the Ethiopian government has made considerable progress increasing agricultural capacity and assisting those most at risk of not having sufficient food resources. A massive program started in January 2005 coordinates the efforts of multiple donor agencies and partners to provide supplemental food to 8 million of the neediest people in return for help with public works projects. The hope is that with a few years of support, these families will be able to build sufficient household assets and food stores to weather future crises without tragic results.

This year, however, Ethiopia is shouldering the heavy burdens of failed rains and rising food and fuel prices. The government has acknowledged the crisis, stating that 4.6 million Ethiopians are at risk, and has made an appeal for humanitarian assistance. Malnourished children require continued treatment, affected families need food rations until rains allow a harvest, and additional funding is necessary to improve agricultural production over the long term countrywide.

Already, affected communities in Ethiopia are taking extreme measures to survive. Families are selling household items, farm tools, and even wood and tin sheets from the frames and roofs of their homes to buy food. Many are also taking their children out of school, and some are resorting to collecting wild fruits and plants to eat. In one district where CRS works, the local education office reports that, as a result of food and water scarcity, 7,765 children have dropped out of 85 schools.

Due to the drought's severity, CRS is resuming its lead of the Joint Emergency Operational Plan, a consortium of international aid agencies that have partnered multiple times to respond to emergencies in Ethiopia.

"CRS is working closely with diocesan staff in affected areas to understand the scope of the emergency and develop response plans," Lennon adds. "We are also discussing possible responses with the U.S. government for additional food and funding so we can deliver critical assistance to help people get through until the next harvest in November."

Debbie DeVoe is Catholic Relief Services' regional information officer for East Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya. She recently visited emergency feeding sites in Ethiopia's Oromia region.