Irish generosity could prevent famine returning to Ethiopia, says aid worker
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By Sarah Stack
Monday July 07 2008
The generosity of Irish donors could prevent a famine, an aid agency has said.
Emergency funding is being raised to provide vital food and health supplies to tens of thousands of Ethiopians who are on the brink of starving to death.
Almost 25 years after a famine sparked Band Aid, a drought -- compounded by spiralling food and oil prices -- has left around 10 million people with no means of living.
Concern, Ireland's largest NGO, said there is not enough food in the country to meet demand, and more money is needed to fund life-saving programmes on the ground.
Aine Fay, the organisation's country director, revealed the situation will deteriorate over the next four weeks.
"Irish people are struggling with the global rise in food prices and see the cost of a weekly basket going up, but we can still make choices and decide what to buy,'' she said.
"In Ethiopia, people never had those choices to start with and now, with the cost of food and having no crops to eat or sell, they can't afford anything.
"The challenge for us and other agencies is to prevent death by bringing food into the villages and towns.
"The generosity of the Irish is so well known and I've no doubt they will respond."
Vital supplies being shipped to the African country are not expected to arrive until August, and some agencies fear a 100pc deficit in the amount of grain needed this month.
The food crisis in parts of the country is so critical that people are too weak to walk to health and distribution centres for aid.
Concern recently launched an emergency appeal to raise €2m to give food and farming supplies to helpless families. "The situation is as bad as we thought it could possibly get for people in Ethiopia," continued Ms Fay.
"There are no crops in the fields and people have no food coming in. But over the next four weeks that situation will deteriorate even further."
On Wednesday, former president Mary Robinson will address a seminar in Dublin marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Staged by Concern and ActionAid, it will examine some of the key issues surrounding the current food crisis.
- Sarah Stack
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