US donates 62,330 mt of food aid

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced plans to ship a further 62,300 mt of food aid to Ethiopia where some 14 million people face starvation from the harshest drought that has hit the country in years. The US has now pledged more than 250,000 mt of food to Ethiopia since July, making it the largest contributor. So far, the US has donated 234,000 mt, USAID reported on Friday. The majority of the food shipment - made up of wheat, blended cereal, pulses and vegetable oils - is due to arrive in December and January. The US embassy in Addis Ababa also announced on Monday that US $21 million would be ploughed into a scheme for nomadic pastoralists. The five-year "Southern Tier Initiative" will target some 78,000 pastoralists in Borana on the southern border with Kenya. The programme aims to improve health, education, conservation and peace building. The embassy also called on other donors, including those not typically active in food aid, to follow its example in the Horn of Africa. "In recognition of the chronic food insecurity in Ethiopia, USAID is working with Ethiopian counterparts to address longer term structural problems through health, agriculture, education and natural resource management programmes," the embassy said. The US pledge also came as Norway announced a $1.3-million grant to support water supply systems, the provision of emergency health kits and vaccinations for the emergency. The money will target some 2.8 million people in some of the hardest hit drought-stricken places like Afar and Amhara.