Locals build airstrip in northeastern zone

Villagers in one of Ethiopia’s most isolated and drought-stricken areas have built an airstrip so that emergency relief can be delivered. The people of Fik Zone, in the Somali Regional State, built the runway under a food-for-work scheme run by the charity Save the Children-UK. On Monday, the first aircraft to arrive in the area for years landed on the runway to check its serviceability. The pilot, Vernon Bell, 49, confirmed that aircraft would be able to land there and take off again after making deliveries. This means that aid organisations can now fly into Fik to provide emergency assistance. Up to now, the area has been out of bounds because of security risks. Fik is off-limits to the UN and many other international aid organisations. Save the Children-UK has been the only organisation operating in the zone. The entire zone, with its population of around 275,000, has remained effectively cut off from many other areas because of security fears. It has also been hard hit by the severe drought. The child mortality rate, mainly due to diarrhoea, tuberculosis and malaria, is alarming. Many of the children who died had already been weakened by months of hunger. Malnutrition rates were in excess of 20 percent. However, Save the Children says the area is now receiving some rains – known as the Deyr – and that re-stocking programmes are helping families overcome destitution. The dilemma for many aid organisations has been how they can provide the region with support without putting their staff at risk. Muhammad Deq, the chairman of Fik Zone, told IRIN that while there had been security problems in the past, these had now been resolved. Save the Children now plan to approach the UN to get security clearance for the area so that the UN can use the airstrip.