One- quarter of $1.4b aid pledged to Ethiopia crisis yet to be paid

About one -quarter of the $1.4 billion needed to respond to the crisis in Ethiopia as a result of the drought, has been pledged but most of these contributions are yet to be paid, according to the United Nations Officer for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Ethiopia is experiencing its worst drought in history which has left more than 400,000 children under 5 severely malnourished. 10.2 million people, one tenth of the population cannot feed themselves, since their crops and animal have died.

Carolyn Miles, President of Save the Children, US after visiting Ethiopia’s Afar and Amhara regions said;

“We’ ve definitely been ringing the alarm since last summer but i think, sadly,sometimes it takes pictures of children suffering to get people to actually take things seriously,”

Reuters reports the World Food Programme (WFP), the main provider of food aid, has received only 13 percent of the money it needs up until June, which is part of the total $1.4 billion U.N. target.

“These contributions do not come close to meeting the $481 million which is required,” the WFP said in emailed comments. “Urgent contributions are essential now to be able to sustain the response.”

The government took the lead by giving $300 million in emergency aid, in the last months, but aid agencies say the scale of the crisis is immense.