PRESS CONFERENCE ON SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA
Press Briefing
PRESS CONFERENCE ON SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA
20000405At a Headquarters press conference today, Rudolph von Bernuth, of Save the Children, and Michael Delaney, Director of Humanitarian Assistance of Oxfam American, described themselves as desperate to bring to the worlds attention the drought and famine crisis affecting millions of people in Ethiopia.
Mr. von Bernuth said that the major rains in much of the country had failed in most of the last six growing seasons, or last three years, and that had a cumulative effect, particularly in the South-East zones. There was now a situation in that part of the country where the resources of the local communities -- their cattle and their stored grain -- had been almost completely eroded.
Many of people had begun migrating to the towns while water and food supplies were drastically low, he continued. There was no water for animals or for human consumption. Food resources were very scarce, as well. Those factors were all part of a much wider need throughout the country. Drought conditions were moving progressively northward and would affect much more of the country over time. Attention over the last week had begun to seriously focus on that issue. Today's New York Times said that the European Union had mentioned both the figure of 8 million people in Ethiopia who were currently at risk of famine, and of food import needs of 800,000 tonnes.
One of the problems we face, Mr. von Bernuth said, is that even if food supplies were to materialize, it will not address the issues of migration or lack of water. The issue of port capacity throughout the region would also present a problem in managing the importation of 800,000 tonnes of food in a timely manner. We are facing enormous logistical, as well as resource constraints, he said.
Mr. von Bernuth added that Save the Children had been working in Ethiopia since 1984 -- the year of the onset of the worst droughts and famines in that country's modern history. We have been very concerned for some months and have attempted to draw the attention of the broader public and government agencies to what we consider to be a very serious situation and one of the most critical facing Ethiopia in the last few decades, he stressed.
According to Mr. von Bernuth, Save the Children had been working in the area of Godere, in particular. Recently, his organization, with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), airlifted in about 30 tonnes of high protein biscuits and 10 tonnes of enriched nutritional formula. We are currently doing both therapeutic feeding of children who are most affected by hunger at this point and supplemental feeding for larger numbers of children.
What was being done in Ethiopia by Save the Children, however, was very small in comparison to the total need, he said. His organization was reaching somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3,000 children, but it was working on expanding its programmes, because the current needs clearly exceeded them. We
Ethiopian Press Conference - 2 - 5 April 2000
are working with very few water tankers, trying to supply water to communities that do not have local water sources, he said. Deep well-drilling rigs, more tankers and water purification equipment were needed.
Mr. Delaney, sharing some of the findings from his recent trip to Ethiopia, said, in the Borona zone, there were approximately 1.6 million people affected by the drought. The total population affected throughout the country was 7.7 million. The situation in Borona was quickly deteriorating from what would have been a success story - people who had fought off the drought for three years. The current lack of rain, however, was responsible for the deaths of people, their cattle and their livelihoods. Economies were being shattered, he said.
The lack of pasture and water had resulted in cows that were basically walking skeletons, he continued. People who depended on the sale of cattle for their livelihoods could get nothing for them. Cattle had depreciated in price from $50 to $1 in the marketplace. At the same time, the water situation was deteriorating daily. Many of the catchment ponds that had been constructed over the last year were now dry. That was forcing people to walk with their cattle and their sheep for hours on end and sometimes days to find water.
Mr. Delaney said a point had now been reached where there was a small window of opportunity. A concerted effort by governments, non governmental organizations, local Ethiopian organizations and the people was going to try and keep the crisis from deteriorating.
Describing some of the conversations that had taken place during his trip, Mr. Delaney said a woman had remarked that, now that their cattle were dead, we are here waiting to die as well. A Roman Catholic priest and nun who had been in the Borona zone since 1980 said that conditions now being witnessed were worse than the drought that had been brought to the world's attention in 1984 and 1985.
Mr. Delaney added that families who had lost their cattle and sheep had resorted to selling their seeds for the next harvest. We know for sure that the current situation we are facing will have long-term implications because people will not have the seeds or tools for the next planting. That was an issue to which agencies, governments and organizations needed to respond. Responses, however, should not be limited to the current crisis, but should address the long-term rehabilitation of the area.
A correspondent asked if importing drilling rigs would not be even more prohibitive than importing food. He also wanted to know what sort of time would be required to get the rigs working and where would they be put. Mr. von Bernuth said that, while there might be a need to import some drilling rigs, there were some in the region, which could be mobilized. It was more a question of getting the money to pay for the operation of the rigs, the casings and the various other pieces that needed to be put into the ground, and the rig teams and their redeployment. If drill rigs were available, it would take two weeks to a month before water would flow.
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Mr. Delaney said Oxfam America recently made a grant of $50,000 to a local organization that used the money to drill two additional boreholes. There was underground water, at this time. It was just a matter of access. While there were local teams, organizations and companies assisting in that regard, more support was needed to expand the water coverage.
A correspondent drew attention to an allegation that the international community's response to the Ethiopian crisis was a bit slow and that, perhaps, it was waiting for it to become a full-fledged famine. He wanted to know whether that was a valid assessment.
Mr. von Bernuth said that statement was partially accurate. Certainly we have been trying very hard to encourage the major donors to focus on Ethiopia as a serious emergency, he said. The Ethiopian Government, as well, had also not focused as they might have on the issues of the drought in the southern part of the country. Thus, there was a shared responsibility.
Mr. Delaney said the response of the United States Government had been very good. It had responded with a pledge that met half of the requirements put forward by the Ethiopian Government. They were looking for 800,000 metric tonnes of food aid and the United States came forward with a pledge of over 400,000 metric tonnes.
A correspondent noted that, while drought was said to be the main cause of the crisis, the United Nations had pointed out that the situation was further exacerbated by conflicts in the Horn of Africa and the existing conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. How important was it then to deal with such problems of insecurity, in order to open up humanitarian corridors to get aid into various areas.
Mr. Delaney said that, at this point, it was important to get world attention to focus on the people of Ethiopia and the needs that existed. Once that attention was attracted, then all other things would fall into place.
Correspondents were also shown a ten-minute video on the current situation in Ethiopia.
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