World must not forget about Ethiopia’s food crisis – former Olympic champion

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Former Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie says millions of Ethiopians in the grip of a severe hunger crisis are at risk of being forgotten by the international community.

Gebrselassie, in a statement said that the country urgently needed more aid to help them recover from the food crisis.

Report says in spite of recent rains, Ethiopia is still reeling from its worst drought in 50 years.

According to the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP), 10.2 million people, one-tenth of the population need food aid.

“There is a huge emergency here in Ethiopia and the world is at risk of forgetting what is happening.

“Families are in desperate need of food as crops have been destroyed (and) livestock has been killed,’’ he said.

The Ethiopian world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist joined international aid agency ActionAid in calling for more funds to tackle the food crisis.

The country’s economy has grown rapidly for more than a decade, helping the government put in place agriculture, health and social programmes to build resilience against lean periods.

But the scale of this drought, caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, is even overwhelming those measures.

“My home country has taken enormous steps forward in recent years, but people here have been suffering for several months now, particularly young children and pregnant mothers.

“The world needs to take action now and provide funds to avert widespread suffering, death and disease,’’ Gebrselassie said.

The rains, which began in March, have brought some respite to the Horn of Africa nation.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said families ate more vegetables and milk and skipped fewer meals in May and June compared with previous months.

According to OCHA, across Africa, Asia and the America, some 60 million people in 22 countries have been affected by El Nino.

The agency said that in June, it needed another 2.5 billion dollars in funding to help them.

Experts say El Nino was declared over in May but its damaging effects will be felt for months.

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