galbeed.com

By Jason McLure

July 22 (Bloomberg) — Aid agencies helping feed millions of Ethiopians face a shortfall of $211 million and may be forced to cut food rations for hungry families in the drought-stricken nation, the United Nations’ humanitarian agency said.

“The upcoming shipment of cereals and blended food during July and August will not be sufficient to meet estimated requirements,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, or OCHA, said in an e-mailed report today in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia needs 256,000 metric tons of food to assist people affected by the failure of rains during February and March as well as families that lost crops during the current growing season, according to the OCHA.

The World Health Organization estimates as many as 4.6 million people have been left hungry as a result of the drought, which is draining grain stores across a third of the country. Rates of malnutrition are increasing in some parts of southern and eastern Ethiopia, even after a four-month relief effort, the OCHA said today.

Neither aid agencies nor the Ethiopian government have provided estimates of the number of people who have died from malnutrition as a result of the drought. An estimated 150,000 children die of malnutrition and related causes every year in Ethiopia, according to the United Nations’ Children’s Fund.

Ethiopia’s food reserves have declined to 19,000 tons, according to the OCHA. The country normally requires 400,000 tons of stockpiles, according to the World Food Program, the UN’s food agency.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 22, 2008 03:48 EDT

Categories: News
Tags: