Feature - the human cost of the drought

Two months ago Shamise Mohamed struggled to tell her year-old twins apart. Tragically, she has no difficulty now.

The skin of one of the boys, Hussein, stretches tightly over his grotesquely protruding frame, while in contrast his brother Ahmed still retains some of the rounded features he was born with. Ahmed, says his mother, insists on being at Hussein’s side at all times. He does not know that in a few days, a week at the most, his brother will be dead.

Every few seconds Hussein blinks, the only indicator that he is still alive. Weakened by hunger, he also has malaria.

The family, who live in Bila village in Daru Lebu, West Haraghe region, are victims of the drought that has swept many parts of Ethiopia. The federal government has warned that up to 14
million people could be in need of food aid next year.

West Haraghe, in eastern Ethiopia, is one of the areas worst affected. Carcasses from animals are scattered in villages and on the dusty roads. The lush, fertile-looking fields and overcast skies belie the looming human catastrophe that already has a grip on the region.

“I don't how much longer it will be before all of us are dead," said Shamise, 34. “We hope that we get some help.”

As she spoke, Hussein lifted his hand to his mother's mouth as if gesturing for food. At full stretch he exposed the extent of his fragility. His limbs resemble twigs and look as though they would snap just as easily.

Getachew Haile, a field monitor in the region for the UN’s World Food Programme, said that many farmers had been driven to the brink by a collapse in prices of their crops.

Labour rates have also plummeted. Coupled with poor harvests over the last three years, almost all the typical methods that families use to cope with droughts have been stripped away. Getachew, who worked in the region during the infamous famine of 1984, said that the situation now is worse.

Samuel Nyambi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ethiopia, who is visiting the area, said the government’s early warning system had helped avert a tragedy. But, he warned, without aid an early warning system was ineffective. He was part of an aid mission to the region this week led by Kenzo Oshima, the UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Local villagers also say that a 50 kg ration – which is expected to feed a family for a month – is distributed regardless of the number of people in the family.

“What can we do?” asks Shamise, holding up Hussein’s tiny frame, barely distinguishable under her shawl. Three of her children have died already, victims of the drought.

Like many lactating mothers, she has been unable to produce milk for her children because of her poor diet. Fed on a diet of weeds, her baby weighs just a few pounds.

Aid agencies have been warning of the impending disaster and have called on governments to do more to help. Gromo Alex, of the UN Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE) says that the logistics and “geographic” impact of the problem could present serious challenges to tackling the emergency.

“The situation of malnutrition in West Haraghe is advanced in terms of degraded human conditions and the geographic area affected,” he noted.

But, he stressed, this region was just one of many areas across the country that have been hit.