British donation for drought emergency

Britain donated GBP 5 million to the emergency drought in Ethiopia on Wednesday but warned aid organisations not to take their eyes off long term development. In a statement released by the British embassy in Addis Ababa, the government's Department for International Development (DFID) expressed concern over the “escalating crisis” in Ethiopia. But it praised the country's early warning system for alerting the international community to the drought. “The current situation in Ethiopia is a matter of deep concern," the Department's junior minister, Sally Keeble, said in the statement. “We are responding to all the crises in Africa. But no one donor can do everything everywhere," she said. “We target our humanitarian resources on immediate lifesaving choices." “We have been providing support and monitoring developments in Ethiopia since the beginning of the year," the statement went on. “We will continue to play our part while at the same time focusing on a long term partnership to help tackle the poverty which makes four million people dependent on food aid every year in Ethiopia." The funds were announced as it emerged that six British members of parliament will travel to Ethiopia on a fact finding mission. The MPs, who were invited by the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives, hope to travel to West Haraghe, one of the areas hardest hit by food shortages. They also plan to meet Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who is currently in Washington for talks with US President George Bush.