Ethiopia: Food Shortage and Supply

By Our Staff Reporter

With a view to ensure an efficient aid food supply, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has, in collaboration with the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission, completed installing a commodity Tracking and Monitoring System known as COMPAS, which allows the agency to track, analyze and monitor the progress of all movements until the commodity reaches its final destination.

WFP's Information Technology Unit head, Raymond Otim, says the new system would enable the tracing of food from the time of its entry to Ethiopia until the last point of its distribution. "The previous system allowed us to track the food only until the DPPC main hubs or warehouses; now we will know when and where the food will go to - right down to the final beneficiary," Otim said.

The US$200,000-project envisions connectivity at the DPPC's six main hubs. Connected already are the DPPC's offices in Addis and the four main hubs of Kombolcha, Nazreth, Wolaita Sodo and Shashemene, according to Otim, while the Dire Dawa, Mekele and Ziway offices would be up and running within the next month.

While WFP and DPPC consider the best way of commodity tracking, the Irish rock star Bob Geldof has been busy trying to raise fund the famished Ethiopia.

Geldof urged the world's leading banks to enter a charity trading game to raise money for starving people in Ethiopia. Geldof, who raised an estimated $60 million for Ethiopian famine relief through his "Live Aid" concert in 1985, is backing the "Share the world" project to be staged in Dublin on Saturday, Dec. 2000.

Geldof, now involved in a number of business ventures, said major banks appeared ready to donate the $100,000 fee required to enter teams in the charity game. "Judging by preliminary chats I have had with bankers, I know this will raise millions," Geldof said. "It's a real chance for the financial sector to show that it has a big heart," he added in a statement. Four-person teams from areas such as currency and equity dealing will battle it out to see who can make the most money during a six-hour fantasy trading session, where teams make notional money by responding to fictional news and events.

The team earning the highest sum will have a prize of $1 million to donate to a charity of its choice. The format of the game will be familiar to traders who have taken part in similar fund-raisers. Each team will be given a notional starting sum and will trade on the basis of information relayed to them during the session. The project is the brainchild of Anne-Marie McDaid, who is on leave from Allied Irish Banks to help organize the project. The United Nations recently estimated that around 10 million Ethiopians were threatened by famine this year, after three years of poor rainfall.

Geldof's effort would definitely contribute to the ongoing drivers to contain the impacts of the drought. However the problem calls for concerted and sustainable efforts and that exactly was the agenda between Ethiopian officials including Prime Minister Meles and the Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Jacques Diouf.

Diouf said, while conferring with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (August 22), that FAO was ready to back up Ethiopia's efforts to address the prevailing drought in the country, and that he would lobby for contributions from donor countries to help Ethiopian's struggle to attain sustainable food security.

On the occasion, Diouf briefed Meles on the Inter Agency Task Force of the UN set up in April this year to bring about a long term food security and agricultural development in the Horn.

PM Meles on his part commended FAO's relentless support to Ethiopian agricultural development efforts.

Meles said his government was prepared to devise viable strategies to tackle the impacts of the current drought and mentioned the next five-year development programme which mainly focuses on achieving food security and self-sufficiency.

Meles further indicated that due attention would be given to afforestation, soil conservation, environmental rehabilitation and irrigation activities in the drought-hit parts of the country. He also said efforts would be made to voluntarily resettle farmers from drought-prone areas, in the fertile corners of the country.

Prime Minister Meles also expressed his country's firm stand in support of the UN Inter Agency Task Force, chaired by Dr Jacques Diouf.

In his meeting with foreign minister Syeoum Mesfin, the FAO Director General discussed the Inter Agency Task Force, the World Food Summit, and his initiative aimed at building common agricultural approach towards achieving food security.

The Director General disclosed that the pogramme has national and regional components, and stressed on water conservation as a key to the curbing of the problem. Minister Seyoum on his part recalled Ethiopia's participation in the World Food Summit and expressed its readiness to carry out its part for the success of the programme.

Director General Jacques Diouf, before leaving here for Djibouti, yesterday reportedly said his discussions with Ethiopian government officials was deep and fruitful.

The shortage of food of course, is not limited to Ethiopia; in the preceding week, appeals seemed to come from everywhere.

U.N. officials last week appealed for $25 million to feed African refugees, saying some past donors, notably the European Union, failed to give money this year. U.N. agencies have been forced to cut food rations to refugees in 15 African countries far below the amount needed, officials said. Drought in eastern Africa has compounded the problem.

Christine Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said the European Union usually gives about $17 million a year for food, the second-highest amount after the United States' $760 million. "We haven't received any contribution so far," Berthiaume said. "We are asking why, but we haven't had any answers."

The U.N food agency relies on each government to decide how much to give to relief programs in each region, Berthiaume said. She said the WFP needs an additional $25 million beyond the $65 million already donated to feed 2.1 million people - one-third of the refugees in Africa - for the rest of this year. The agency began cutting back on reports of deaths as a result of the cutbacks, and shortages have forced reduction of up to 50 percent of the planned food aid in some countries, such as Congo, according to Berthiaume. "We need this money quickly," she emphasized. But EU spokesman, Michale Curtis, in Brussels, expressed surprise, saying the 15-nation bloc has been contributing to aid efforts in Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa and Tanzania, among others

The countries where the situation has worsened include Guinea, Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania, said Ron Redmond, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. He said UNCHR is concerned of possible ensuing lawlessness if hungry refugees start foraging for their food in surrounding communities.

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