Ethiopia is facing one of the worst famines in 50 years. Africa has always been one of the worst affected places when it comes to famines and droughts.
Ethiopia has suffered from drought back in 1973 and 1984; however, not much has been done to alleviate the people. According to NBC News, apart from places being dried up, about 50 million Ethiopians are suffering from hunger due to El Nino.
Ethiopia's Rural Areas Take The Most Hit
Among all the countries in the world, Ethiopia is the worst affected by drought because 80 percent of the country's population are living in rural areas. However, the current drought in Ethiopia is one of the worst that has occurred in 50 years, leaving children, families and livestock hungry.
In Ethiopia's rural lands, most people depend on small-scale, rain-fed subsistence agriculture and pastoralism. With this deadly situation in the country, farmers are finding it difficult to maintain their crops and livestock.
People are walking across deserts to find food for their children, who are extremely malnourished. Thousands of children are in horrible conditions, and the problem has become a life-threatening situation.
El Nino To Blame
The famine is a result of the El Nino phenomenon. El Nino is caused when warm water from Pacific Ocean flows towards the east. The effects of El Nino, according to BBC, IS Seen in many parts of the world. Apart from causing drought in Ethiopia, El Nino has triggered flash floods in Southern California and hurricanes in Mexico.
In Dire Need Of More Resources
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has stated that more than 10 million Ethiopians are finding it difficult to survive because they don't have food supply nor are they getting access to any help. The best means to reach out to the people living in the country is through radio broadcasts. The Farm Radio International (FRI) has been taking steps helping Ethiopia's most affected farms and farmers.The government has even allocated $381million to save the people from this situation.
Ethiopia's political condition is another reason why the famine is quite deadly. Since it is not a democratic country, there is no political incentives that are set apart for the famine-affected people of the country.