U.N. wants $460 million for hungry Ethiopians By Reuters
Sept 22, 2008
A mother carries her malnourished child in the yard of Medicine Sans Frontieres facility near Sheshemene, southern Ethiopia, REUTERS/Radu Sigheti
NAIROBI (Reuters) – The United Nations appealed on Monday for $460 million to feed some 10 million Ethiopians hit by drought and high food prices.
“The Horn of Africa region is facing the worst humanitarian crisis since 1984, and Ethiopia is caught in the middle,” said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP).
“We know what needs to be done — we just need the funds to go out and do our job, protecting the hungry.” He said the funds were needed to feed about 9.6 million people until early 2009.
About a quarter of those in need live in the arid east of Ethiopia where it has not rained for three years, added WFP, which relies on donor nations for funds.
“Pastoralist communities in the region have already lost half of their cattle herds. People are skipping meals and parents are pulling children out of school so that they can help to beg in towns or scour the countryside for food,” WFP added.
In neighboring Somalia, about 3.25 million people face hunger because of drought, food prices and conflict, WFP said.
The agency said 90 percent of its food deliveries to Somalia were going by sea, but pirate attacks were jeopardizing that.
Demonym Eritrean Government Provisional government
- President Isaias Afewerki
Independence
- From Italy November 1941
- From United Kingdom under UN Mandate 1951
- from Ethiopia de facto 24 May 1991
- From Ethiopia de jure 24 May 1993
Area
- Total 117,600 km2 (100th)
45,405 sq mi - Water (%) 0.14%
Population
- 2009 estimate 5,224,000[4] (109th)
- 2008 census 5,291,370
- Density 43.1/km2 (165th)
111.7/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate
- Total $3.625 billion[5]
- Per capita $681[5]
GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
- Total $2.117 billion[5]
- Per capita $397[5]
HDI (2007) steady 0.472 (low) (165th)
Currency Nakfa (ERN)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
ISO 3166 code ER
Internet TLD .er
Calling code 291
1 ,. National TV: Eritrea Television (ERI-TV)
Eritrea (play /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;[6] Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million...
Source: Wikipedia
