Migrant children starving to death in Bale

At least 10 children have starved to death among drought-stricken families who fled to one of Ethiopia’s most important national parks seeking refuge. The children were among some 20,000 people who have descended on Bale National Park in search of food, according to the UN’s Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE). It said the region, in southeastern Ethiopia, is facing a looming social and environmental crisis unless urgent action is taken. “The migrants left their homes due to persistent and cumulative drawbacks in their livelihoods,” the EUE said. “Farmland shortages and recurrent failure of rains and periodic drought conditions and hence harvest failures forced them to leave.” It said the crisis had been exacerbated by a severe drought in the east of Ethiopia which has hit more than two million people. The EUE said that figure is expected to increase. Bale is home to the highly endangered Ethiopian Wolf and is vital for the ecological system of the surrounding area, including large parts of the arid Somali region. “The migrants do not have food, shelter, clothes, cooking utensils and access to medical services,” the EUE said. “Coughing and malnutrition was visible in the population, particularly in children, older people and nursing mothers. Lack of sanitation is aggravating the problems," it added. “The food situation in the lowlands of Bale Zone is generally bleak and currently 144,800 people are under humanitarian assistance," it noted.