By Saka Fatima
UNICEF’s Ethiopia representative, Ms. Adele khodr on Tuesday told the United Nations during a briefing in Geneva by video conference that Somalia, Kenya, and now Ethiopia have raised alarm about the latest climate shock to a fragile region traversed by herders and others trying to keep their animals, and themselves, alive.
Adele said that some water sources were drying up or already dry, and pointed to the need to rehabilitate wells, drill boreholes and get water to health and nutrition systems.
Meanwhile some Communities in Ethiopia’s Somali region, have seen the failures of what should have been three straight rainy seasons.
“Droughts come and go over the years, but one resident told a visiting team with the United Nations children’s agency that she and her seven children have never seen one like this.
“The government distributed food and fodder during the last drought five years ago, This time, we don’t have enough food for our family.
“More than 6 million people in Ethiopia are expected to need urgent humanitarian aid by mid-March.
“And in neighboring Somalia more than 7 million people need urgent help, the Somali NGO Consortium said in a separate statement, pleading with international donors to give much more.
“This could be the region’s worst drought in 40 years,” she said.
Meanwhile, UNICEF estimates that more than 150,000 children in such areas of Ethiopia have dropped out of school to help fetch scarce water and handle other chores.