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Drought in Africa
Harvests have failed across the country and a record-breaking drought caused by climate phenomenon El Niño have left an estimated 15 million people in need of assistance.
USAID said consecutive seasons of below-normal rainfall, exacerbated by the effects of El Niño, had lowered agricultural production, decimated livestock and deteriorated food security and nutrition in parts of the country, leaving Ethiopia with one of the world’s largest food insecure populations.
By early 2016, the country’s government anticipates 10.2m people will be in need of assistance, in addition to the 7.9m chronically food insecure people the government already supports. Approximately 5.8 million will need clean water, 1.7 million children and breastfeeding mothers will require nutritious food supplements and around 435,000 children will need treatment for severe acute malnutrition next year.
The latest contribution brings USAID’s total funding to tackle the food crisis in 2015/16 to $435m.
The European Union as well as individual European countries, Canada and other donors have also contributed.
The European Union has also today announced a further $20m in aid for South Sudan, where an estimated 40,000 people are on the brink of famine as drought, poor harvest and conflict decimate the country’s food security.
