Tearfund church partners in Ethiopia are scaling-up their efforts to help families cope with an escalating hunger crisis.
Women with severely malnourished children queuing for food rations in the Ethiopian district of Angatcha. Picture: Phil James/Tearfund
Just days ago, the UN warned that up to six million Ethiopians are now in need of emergency food aid to stay alive. Add in another eight million people being supported by the Ethiopian’s government safety net scheme and the total number of people in need is 14 million.
One area that is particularly hard hit is Angatcha District in southern Ethiopia. Here Tearfund partner, the Ethiopia Kale Heywet Church, has been running emergency feeding programmes for several months.
They are aimed at families with severely malnourished children and original plans to help 800 such households have now been increased to 1,000.
Screening
Under the feeding programme, each month families receive a combination of pulses, cereals and oil, with pregnant and breast-feeding months given extra.
The growing need for food is demonstrated by the number of children being seen at the Angatcha Health Centre. So far 3,400 youngsters have been screened and 1,500 of them have been diagnosed as having severe acute malnutrition.
Among those to benefit from these programmes is Ababach Umuro’s nine-month-old twins, Birut and Abusha.
A woman receives a sack of grain from a Tearfund church partner. Picture: Phil James/Tearfund
Health workers who examined the children were shocked at the poor shape of the pair, illustrated when measurements of the circumference of their arms showed they were half of what they should be for healthy children.
The family has also benefited from a secondary source of help from Tearfund and our partners.
Following the extensive failure of crops such as maize and wheat earlier in the year, Tearfund has provided seeds so families can plant new crops.
In August, the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church distributed seeds for wheat, barley and a cereal called teff as well as much needed fertiliser to 5,000 families in Angatcha.
Seed banks
The idea is households receiving seeds will pay the equivalent amount back after harvest. These seeds will then be stored and given to the most vulnerable households on a similar loan basis.
The aim is to achieve food security through running sustainable seed banks.
The Umuro family received 37 kilos of wheat which they have planted and it is now at the flowering stage. When it is ready the wheat will feed the family for two months.
Lombebo Abura standing in front of a crop of wheat grown from seed provided by a Tearfund church partner. Picture: Phil James/Tearfund
Father-of-eight Lombebo Abura received 35 kilos of wheat seed from the church which he planted on his quarter of an acre plot of land.
Lombebo said, `I was so happy to receive this. Without doubt if I didn’t receive this then I wouldn’t have been able to plant on this land. The market prices for seeds were so expensive.
`I’m really happy with the progress of the crop so far. After I harvest, God willing, I’m going to pay back my loan, keep some food to feed the family and then sell some to buy animals.
`Life is tough at the moment. However things will get better because of the support I’ve received.’