UNICEF Warns Of Looming Famine, Drought In Ethiopia

A UNICEF official on Thursday warned that Ethiopia could face a full-blown famine and drought without immediate help.

Ethiopia Representative Gianfranco Rotigliano said his agency is not receiving the necessary foreign aid to avert a humanitarian crisis.

He warned that without the additional help, Ethiopia could face a famine triggered by years of drought.

“I have been around for many years, and I have faced many emergencies in my life, but this is the first time in which I have to face a serious and great emergency and I do not have the money I need.

“In eastern Ethiopia, I have people that do not have drinking water, literally drinking water because I do not have money to pay for the trucks, for the fuel.

"So I think it could blow into a famine if it is ignored.”

The UNICEF reports that four years of failed rains have dried up water sources, led to widespread crop failure and put an estimated 10 million people on life support, nearly half of them children.

The agency added that severe acute malnutrition has risen sharply in drought-hit areas. And in the Somali region alone, it said there has been a 47% increase.

It also warned that 600,000 children face disease or death without medical and nutritional care.