Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Addis Ababa – The German Evangelical Church is providing emergency relief for some 13,000 victims of severe drought in the Ogaden area of southeastern Ethiopia, local press reported Tuesday.
The Adventists Development and Relief Agency of Germany is providing food aid to inhabitants of the town of Gode and environs, about 1,200 km southeast of the Ethiopian capital.
The emergency relief has benefited drought victims in Gode Zone, with special attention to malnourished children, lactating and expectant mothers, the report said.
The money for emergency drought relief in Gode Zone, amounting to 2,200,000 birr (about 258,000 US dollars), was secured from the German government in response to a joint appeal made earlier by the state relief agency and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance in Ethiopia.
The drought victims in Ethiopia are among some 11 million people in lowland areas in five countries of the Horn of Africa that have been affected by severe drought this year. In March the UN appealed for urgent relief aid for the affected countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Somalia.
Source: dpa, May 17, 2006
