Livestock in the southern Ethiopian community of Kura Kalicha has suffered from a dearth of rain for three years. Numerous deceased cows are strewn across the parched ground, their flesh consumed by vultures.
A representative of the local government, Jilo Wile, is concerned that the villages may perish due to the drought. He alleged that more than one hundred locals were hospitalized due to severe malnutrition.
This includes the young, the elderly, and the pregnant. Jilo, who has lost 73 of his 75 cows to famine, said.
Along with its neighbors Somalia and Kenya, southern Ethiopia is experiencing the worst drought in decades. Aid organizations have warned that additional aid is required. In other to avert a humanitarian crisis following the failure of five consecutive monsoon seasons.
UN estimates that 10% of Ethiopia’s population, or approximately 12 million people, are food insecure in areas affected by drought. The United Nations defines food insecurity as the absence of consistent access to enough sustenance for an individual’s growth, development, and maintenance.
Numerous relief workers predicted a catastrophe, but the drought in Somalia only killed an estimated 43,000 people last year.
Humanitarian workers anticipate that the drought will soon result in fatalities in the Oromiya region. This is where Kura Kalicha is located, and the adjacent drought-affected regions of Ethiopia.
Kate Maldonado, a representative of the international aid organization Mercy Corps, recently visited the Somali region of southern Ethiopia and reported that “collectively, as communities, they have exhausted their coping strategies.”
People in the southern Ethiopian lowlands rely heavily on their livestock, supplementing their nutrition with staples such as maize.
Residents assert that assistance has been slow and insufficient. The Ethiopian federal government issued a statement last month indicating that it was collaborating with relief organizations to assist those in need.
The federal government did not provide a commentator when requested. Hailu Aduga, a spokesperson for the regional administration in the Oromiya region, stated that the authorities reacted swiftly.
“Given the magnitude of the issue, the available resources are inadequate. However, efforts have been made to prevent any casualties, he said.
Existing resources are widely acknowledged to be inadequate. Ethiopia received $1.5 billion of the $3.34 billion required for humanitarian needs, such as the drought and the aftermath of the two-year conflict in the northern Tigray region that ended last November with tens of thousands of deaths.
Mudasser Siddiqui, country director for Plan International, cautioned, “If we do not increase our aid, it will be impossible to prevent the impending hunger crisis from affecting children, girls, and their families.”
Jilo Guracha, a mother of seven, walked 53 miles (85 kilometers) in the scorching sun to reach a camp where she and her two youngest sons could receive food assistance.
This camp in the Dubuluk district, which was established a year ago on an empty field, is home to 53,000 individuals who live in grass huts and used plastic bags.
She explained that some individuals are committing suicide because they cannot afford to support their families. We are near starvation until God sends rain; therefore, we implore the authorities to intervene.
