After three years of failed rains, the animals in the southern Ethiopian village of Kura Kalicha are dying. Dozens of decomposing cattle carcasses lie on the parched earth, their flesh picked over by scavengers.
Jilo Wile, a local government official, fears the villagers will be next to succumb to the drought. More than 100 local residents are in hospital in critical condition from malnutrition, he said.
Nearly 12 million people, a tenth of the population, are estimated to be food insecure in Ethiopia’s drought-affected areas, according to the United Nations, which defines insecurity as a lack of regular access to the safe and nutritious food needed for growth, development and daily life. “Collectively, as communities they have run out of coping mechanisms,” said Kate Maldonado from international aid agency Mercy Corps, who recently visited southern Ethiopia’s Somali region.
A spokesperson for the federal government did not respond to a request for comment. Oromiya regional government spokesperson Hailu Aduga said authorities had reacted promptly. “If we don’t scale up our assistance, it won’t be possible to prevent the looming hunger crisis from affecting children, girls and their families,” said Mudasser Siddiqui, country director for Plan International, a child rights organisation.
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