[Documents menu] Documents menu

Number of Needy in Afar Grows By Two-Fold

Embassy of Ethiopia (Washington, DC), press release, 31 July 2001

Ayssaita—Uneven distribution of the rains in Afar Regional State is reported to have led to a two-fold rise in the number of the needy in the State.

According to information obtained from Ato Mohammed Hussein, Representative of State’s Disaster Prevention and Preparedness and Labor and Social Affairs Bureau, the number of needy now has gone up to 400,000 from 127,000 because of the uneven and erratic rains in the State from September to June this year.

He said, there were reports of cattle dying in some areas in the State, as a result of the climatic phenomena and that therefore the people will need to receive relief food beginning this month.

The reported two-fold increase in the number of needy, was however refuted by Ato Ephrem Teferra, Representative of the Federal DPPC’s Public Relation Office by saying that the disclosure was premature, as the Commission was processing a crop assessment field tour undertaken by its experts about a month ago.