An additional £1 million is to be allocated to humanitarian aid in Ethiopia, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, announced yesterday.
After a visit to a new Concern feeding centre in the Wollita region, she said the new allocation would come from nonessential, long-term development projects funded by the Department as part of the Irish aid programme for Ethiopia.
"While it is heartbreaking today to witness children in such a condition of severe mal-nourishment, it was uplifting to know their nutritional needs are being met from today," she said.
Today, the Minister will meet the director of the World Food Programme as well as the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr Meles Zenawi.
The crisis in Ethiopia is the focus of tonight's Primetime, on RTE 1 at 9.30 p.m.