Gov’t food aid system successful to prevent famine: PM Meles

Addis Ababa, August 17 - Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that the food aid system that was introduced by the government of Ethiopia to prevent famine has been successful. The Premier said in an exclusive interview with ERTA on Tuesday August 16, 2011 that the aid system has played a major role in preventing famine, though there is drought in some parts of Ethiopia. Due to inadequate ‘Kiremt’ and absence of ‘Belg’ rains, drought has occurred in the peripheral areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia, which are mainly pastoralist areas. The situation has left 4.5 million Ethiopians in need of emergency food aid. The government is currently working together with non-governmental organizations in providing food aids to these areas. This has made it possible to contain the situation before causing loss of lives. The U.N. declares a famine when certain criteria exist in an area. These are when acute malnutrition rates among children exceeds 30 per cent; when more than two people per every 10,000 die per day; and when people are not able to access food and other basic necessities. Meles said, based on these criteria, there has been no famine in Ethiopia in the past 20 years, adding, this is because the government has put in place a successful food aid system which some hardly accept. Certain parties are mistakenly associating this drought situation in Ethiopia with the current famine in Somalia. According to Meles, this emanates mainly from two reasons. The first one is the need to gather as much as possible aids by institutions and non governmental organizations working in the area of food aid, by using the situation.
The premier stated, the second reason as a motive which emanates from political aim to exaggerate the country’s need of aid, thereby mar the image of Ethiopia, Meles said. He said though it is not possible to stop the drought, it would be possible to make citizens not to rely on aid by utilizing irrigation and other mechanisms in those drought affected areas.Increasing agricultural productivity in other areas of the nation would also help to overcome the problem within the capacity of the nation, Meles noted. (ERTA)