Ethiopia SAVE THE CHILDREN LAUNCHES DROUGHT RESPONSE PROGRESS REPORT
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SAVE THE CHILDREN LAUNCHES DROUGHT RESPONSE PROGRESS REPORT
July 8th 2016 – In a new Save the Children report 'Two Years of Drought Response in Ethiopia', the organisation sets out the context faced by Ethiopian families during the latest drought, the impact on that has had on families and communities in rural drought-affected areas, and what the organisation has been able to achieve with the funding it has raised from the international community in support of the Government’s response in health, food security and livelihoods, water and education sectors, working closely with the line Ministries of each sector and the Regional Governments of each affected area:
John Graham, Country Director of Save the Children in Ethiopia, reiterates that two years on from the early start of the crisis, the impact of the El Nino-related drought is still affecting children and their families in many ways, even with the thankful return of the rains, and that the organisation renews its commitments to keep up a high level of support for the Government-led response to mitigate the impacts until the Meher harvest:
“The Government’s early response and committed relief efforts have staved off a potential catastrophe. While much has been done to help those most at risk, we must continue to work together with the support of the international donors to finish the job.”
“Although the onset of Kiremt summer rains is a welcome relief, many families are already affected, both physically and economically, by the cycle of failed harvests and pasture in the worst drought affected areas.”
“How we respond over the next three months is absolutely critical to ensure that the collaborative work channeled into averting a major food crisis so far, doesn’t fall down at the final hurdle” says Graham.
“We recently began a large-scale seed distribution scheme, mainly in the severely drought-hit areas of Amhara, Tigray, Southern Nations Regions (SNNPR), and Oromia, in an attempt to help 76,000 households reduce their dependency on emergency food aid and humanitarian interventions, and get back on the road to recovery.”
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