08/07/2003

At a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., representatives of both Ethiopia’s government and a cross-section of global relief agencies called on the international community to increase its support of long-term development projects aimed at ending Ethiopia’s chronic food shortage.   Though the United States, for example, has provided more than $2.26 billion in aid to Ethiopia since 1981, and $1.8 billion since resuming a full program with the transitional government in 1991-92, only $55 million has been spent on development projects.  Of that amount, only $6 million has gone to agricultural development.  For the country to shake off its cycle of dependency, a commitment to structural change is necessary. High on Ethiopia’s list of agricultural ills is a continued reliance on rain-fed agriculture coupled with an inability to cope with fluctuating cycles of production.  When rains are good, production skyrockets, leaving farmers to face vast surpluses and depressed prices.  Irrigation projects and the development of market outlets would dramatically increase the country’s capacity to deal with agricultural shocks. The country also suffers from a ballooning population and the continued spread of HIV/AIDS.  An estimated 3 million Ethiopians are infected with HIV/AIDS and more than 1 million children have been orphaned by the disease.  Not only has the disease decimated the work force, but also weakened immune systems leave adults and children less able to withstand the physical trauma of food shortages.   As it stands, more than 12 million people in Ethiopia are currently in need of food assistance.  Half of these are children under the age of 15.  Save the Children reports that children between the ages of two and five are suffering the most as they are too old to breast feed but too young to get adequate nourishment from their family’s sparse meals.  By this summer, the U.N. estimates that 60,000 to 80,000 children could be acutely malnourished. Despite such dismal figures, Ethiopia shows clear signs of progress since the tragedy that unfolded in 1984-86.  The country’s current government has embraced a policy of transparency and cooperates fully with both foreign governments and relief agencies.  Early warning systems have improved and are credited with holding the current situation at crisis rather than catastrophe levels.  Public information systems and rapid response teams have been able to discourage migration and prevent the kind of “death camp” situations that transpired in ’84 when amassed populations fell victim to epidemics.  Still, without international investment in long-term solutions, millions of Ethiopians will continue to lose their lives to starvation and disease.