In southern Ethiopia, drought kills livestock and brings hunger

Nearly 12 million people, one-tenth of the population, are at risk of famine in the drought-stricken areas of Ethiopia.

After three years of failed rains, the animals in the southern Ethiopian village of Kura Kalicha are dying. Dozens of decomposing beef carcasses lie on the parched earth, their flesh snatched away by scavengers.

Jilo Wile, a local government official, fears that the villagers will be next to succumb to the drought. More than 100 local residents are in critical condition in hospital from malnutrition, he said.

“This number includes children, the elderly and pregnant women,” said Jilo, who has lost 73 of his 75 cows to starvation.

Like neighboring Somalia and Kenya, southern Ethiopia is experiencing the worst drought in decades in the Horn of Africa. Five consecutive rainy seasons have failed and the current rainy season is expected to be too, prompting warnings from aid agencies that more aid is needed to deal with a humanitarian crisis.

According to the United Nations, nearly 12 million people, a 10th of the population, are estimated to be food insecure in drought-stricken areas of Ethiopia. and everyday life.

Somalia has been hardest hit by the drought, claiming an estimated 43,000 lives last year, but still not the famine many aid workers had predicted.

No deaths have yet been directly attributed to the drought in the Oromiya region, where Kura Kalicha is located, or the neighboring drought-stricken regions of Ethiopia, but humanitarian workers expect it to be soon.

“As communities, they no longer have coping mechanisms,” said Kate Maldonado of the international aid organization Mercy Corps, who recently visited the Somali region of southern Ethiopia.

The population in much of the lowlands of southern Ethiopia is overwhelmingly dependent on livestock, with food supplemented by staple crops such as maize.

Local residents say that the aid offered is insufficient and is slow to get going. Ethiopia’s federal government issued a statement last month saying it is working with aid agencies to help those in need.

Comments were yet to be made, but Oromiya Regional Government spokesman Hailu Aduga said authorities had responded quickly.

“The aid is not enough given the number of people in need. But we worked to prevent the loss of life,” he told Reuters news agency.

Last year, Ethiopia received just half of the $3.34 billion needed for humanitarian needs, including the drought, but also the aftermath of the two-year war in the northern Tigray region, which ended last November after tens of thousands were killed.

“If we don’t scale up our aid, it won’t be possible to prevent the looming hunger crisis from hitting children, girls and their families,” said Mudasser Siddiqui, country director of Plan International, a children’s rights organization.

Jilo Guracha, a 40-year-old mother of seven, walked 85 km (53 mi) in the scorching heat to reach a camp where she and two of her sons could receive food rations.

The camp, in the Dubuluk district, was set up a year ago on an empty field and is now home to 53,000 people living in small shacks made of grass and used plastic bags.

“Some commit suicide after failing to provide for their families,” she said. “We beg the government to save us from starvation until God brings us rain.”