Defying Drought in Ethiopia

By Debbie DeVoe

Poor rains throughout the year have left 6.4 million Ethiopians in need of emergency food assistance as of October 2008. In May, Catholic Relief Services and our local Church partners began responding to the growing crisis by supporting emergency feedings and medical services. Now CRS is leading a consortium of international aid agencies to deliver more than 75,000 metric tons of food donated by the United States—enough to fill an entire ocean freighter—to almost 3 million drought-affected Ethiopians this fall.

While this food assistance is critical, just as important are CRS' ongoing long-term development projects. Irrigation activities, including construction of wells and water systems, enable families to reduce dependence on rain-fed crops and grow high-premium vegetables they can eat and sell—a lifesaving lifestyle change in drought-prone areas. Seed distributions, agricultural training and agro-enterprise projects that connect farmers to markets are also helping Ethiopians to boost food availability, increase incomes and ultimately survive this latest cycle of drought.

All photos by Debbie DeVoe/CRS

Debbie DeVoe is CRS' regional information officer in East Africa based in Nairobi.