ETHIOPIA: Greater focus is needed on long-term famine prevention measures in Ethiopia, representatives from the Irish-based Self Help Developmental Agency said yesterday.
At a press conference in Dublin, the agency's assistant country director for Ethiopia, Ms Abeba Amene, reported that 14.3 million people are at risk from famine as the main season harvest is expected to be one of the lowest in years.
The impact of the crop failure is likely to be far-reaching, she said, and will affect both producers and those who depend on the market.
"The failure of the rains has caused widespread long cycle-crop losses at an early stage and further reduced pasture and water resources," said Ms Amene, who is in Ireland for one week.
She thanked the Irish people for their generosity and urged continued focus on the long-term famine prevention measures being successfully applied by her agency in Ethiopia.
While Self Help has distributed new seeds and replanted failed crops, the country is not able to cope with the food shortages. More than two million tonnes of food is required to feed the population.
Ms Hilary McDonagh, director of Self Help, said the organisation had achieved significant results at low cost.
"Over 1.3 million people have benefited from Self Help long-term development projects, at a cost of 10 euro per person," she said.
She urged the continued support of the Irish public, industry and Government for initiatives supporting development that are "clearly the only sustainable way of abolishing the evil of famine in the long-term".