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Ethiopia: millions still short of food 20 years after famine


CAFOD says that two million people in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia are facing serious food shortages this year following the collapse of the main rains. News of the food crisis comes as Prime Minister Tony Blair heads to the region. CAFOD representative in Ethiopia Beverley Jones has just returned from Tigray. She said" "Nearly two million people in Tigray face severe hunger. That is almost half the population of the region. "Some Ethiopians are comparing the situation with the one they experienced in 1984. If they are not given assistance soon, they will be forced to sell everything they have just to survive. Soon they will have nothing left to sell. "It's not too late to avert a bigger crisis. The provision of money and food now would make all the difference. "Recognition must be given to the government of Ethiopia for the progress that has been made since the famine of 1984. The government has clear plans to move Ethiopia away from dependency on food aid. It has developed a 'safety net' programme for those who need long-term food. Unfortunately, this is not due to start until January 2005." The food shortages are according to August figures published by the government and non-government organisations, including the CAFOD partner Relief Society of Tigray. The food crisis in Tigray and in the east takes place against the background of the forthcoming UK sponsored Africa Commission meeting in Addis Ababa. Prime Minister Tony Blair is in Ethiopia this week for the second meeting of the Commission. Another partner of CAFOD, the Adigrat Catholic Secretariat has received a growing number of undernourished children for supplementary feeding. It has become alarmed by the desperation of people who are coming to the church for assistance. Beverly Jones said: "It's clear from the situation in Ethiopia that far more could be achieved if Tony Blair's Africa Commission could help secure a fairer deal for trade, an increase in debt cancellation, and more aid. This is vital for countries like Ethiopia, whose economies are still so vulnerable to drought and fluctuations in world prices for products such as coffee." 2005 is a crucial year for the fight against poverty in Africa. CAFOD says the UK government can push for real change as it holds the presidency of the G8 and the EU next year. Make Poverty History, a mass mobilization of campaigners including CAFOD supporters, will be putting pressure on the government to end the scandal of Third World poverty

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