Press release -
“This is famine!”
Gunilla Hallonsten, international head of the Church of Sweden, has recently returned from the Afar region in Ethiopia, which has been severely stricken by drought.
“What is currently happening in Ethiopia is millions of people dying a slow, silent death,” says Gunilla Hallonsten, Director at the International Department of the Church of Sweden. She has just visited the Afar region in northern Ethiopia, one of several countries in Africa affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon. It has caused severe drought, with destroyed harvests and famine as a result. Ten million people have already been affected in Ethiopia alone.
Previous reports have indicated that the risk of famine will become a reality in the summer if the rains do not come in March. The situation has now worsened over the past month. Gunilla Hallonsten confirms that there is neither food nor water, and that children are dying of dehydration even in hospitals.
“I visited a hospital where people come – to die. Women and children are severely malnourished. There is only nutritional mix, no water, and the children are too weak to eat the nutritional mix,” says Gunilla Hallonsten.
“What is currently happening in Ethiopia is millions of people dying a slow, silent death.”
EthiopiaThe Church of Sweden is on site in Ethiopia via the ACT Alliance and is helping with emergency measures. The current initiative, with emergency support being provided to 150,000 people, includes:
- Food and water distribution
- Medical care, and treatment of malnourished children
- Seed, fertiliser and new cattle
- Cattle fodder and veterinary assistance
- Financial support
Zimbabwe
The remaining SEK 20 million will be distributed at a later date.
The failure of the rains has hit agriculture very hard due to the expected jobs not materialising and the loss of income. The food shortage is becoming increasingly tangible, leading to rising prices and the government now being forced to import large amounts of food. In some parts of the country, as many as half the inhabitants are in the risk zone in terms of being affected by the food shortage, and the number of acutely malnourished children is increasing.
The Church of Sweden is supporting an initiative that will reach 175,000 people and is contributing with:
Cash for food purchases for the most vulnerable households
Training in income-generating activities that help ensure lower vulnerability when disaster strikes.
Training in more efficient cultivation methods and animal husbandry.
Topics
- Human Rights
Categories
- act alliance
- church of sweden
- ethiopia
- famine
- drought
- el niño
- zimbabwe
- gunilla hallonsten
Facts
The El Niño weather phenomenon has caused late and failed rains, which has led to destroyed harvests and severe drought. The cattle, which for many are their only source of income through milk production, must be sold or die of dehydration.
Ethiopia has come a long way since the famine of the 1980s. Today there is a well-developed warning system, an expanded social security net and a better economy, but in recent years needs have been so comprehensive that the government has asked for international support.
Over ten million people live under the threat of starvation, of which two million are malnourished children. Three rains have failed already and if the March rain does not materialise, Ethiopians will be facing a disastrous situation.
