Ethiopia: China, US, UN send funds for drought victims

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Donors, including the U.S., UN and China, are providing funds to aid victims of the severe drought that Ethiopia is suffering.

About 7.5 million Ethiopians are starving as nearly 6 months of drought has made food scarce, according to Ethiopian government statistics.

The El Nino climate cycle has raised the temperature of the Pacific Ocean resulting in reduced rainfall all across Africa.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation told Anadolu Agency on Friday that China had announced a donation of ETB 163 million ($7.7 million). The U.S. also announced food emergency assistance worth $97 million.

In Ethiopia, the eastern part of the country is worst affected.

Ministry spokesman Hajji Ibsa said that the drought so far affected water reserves and pastures causing the death of animals in the Afar and Somali regional states.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Wednesday said in a statement it would provide “more than 154,000 tons of emergency food to address the needs of approximately 3.5 million Ethiopians as well as refugees from Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea, who have fled conflict in their own countries”.

“USAID is also contributing $58 million to its partner Catholic Relief Services for 105,700 tons of U.S. food, along with $19 million for the World Food Program (WFP) for its drought relief operation, and an additional $20 million for refugee assistance,” the statement said.

On Thursday the UN announced from New York that it released $17 million to be used in emergency relief efforts in Ethiopia.

“We expect similar donations from more donor countries and agencies,” the spokesman said. The Ethiopian government has been delivering continuous assistance to affected regions in an effort to relieve the humanitarian crisis.