Radical change needed in dealing with food crises in Ethiopia

(Oxfam) — Twenty-five years ago, Ethiopia was struck by one of the worst famines in its history. An estimated one million people died, and millions more suffered from extreme hunger and malnutrition.

Today around 23 million people across East Africa are facing severe shortages of food and water after years of successive poor rains. Like other countries in the region, Ethiopia continues to suffer frequent droughts and food crises despite having made progress for instance on establishing a groundbreaking national safety net.

To coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Ethiopia famine, Oxfam is releasing a new report – “Band Aids and Beyond” – calling for a radical change in the way the world deals with food crises: instead of waiting for drought, we should be preparing for them, preventing a dry season from turning into a disaster.

Oxfam has several spokespeople available for interviews, including current staff in Ethiopia; aid workers who were there for the response to the 1984 famine; and Oxfam’s International and Regional Directors, recently returned from drought-affected areas.

On 23 October 1984, Michael Buerk, reporting for BBC News, famously filed a report that woke the world up to the scale of the crisis.

The subsequent Live Aid concert was one of the most widely watched events in history and captured global attention. The public’s response to the famine caused a seismic shift in people’s consciousness about the developing world, and raised millions of pounds for urgent life-saving aid.

Footage and photos from the current food crisis, in Ethiopia and across the region, are available. Oxfam can also provide pictures dating back to the famine year.

(For more information contact Rebecca Wynn on: + 44 (0) 7769 887139/ + 44 (0) 1865 472530, rwynn@oxfam.org.uk)