World aid agencies working in Ethiopia, including the Irish organisations, have issued a combined call for prompt action in order to prevent a famine and avert a widespread crisis.
A total of 17 non-governmental agencies (NGOs) published a joint release yesterday stating that they were deeply concerned at the rapidly deteriorating situation in Ethiopia.
They said the crisis was not restricted to a few areas but was affecting much of the country. There was a pressing responsibility on the international community to respond quickly.
The failure of the rains may have triggered the crisis but was not the fundamental cause, the agencies said. The coping mechanisms of vulnerable communities were so fragile that minor climatic variations could result in crisis conditions. Long-term investment was required to address food insecurity.
"Most importantly, the cycle of crisis must be broken. The people of Ethiopia need peace, more development assistance, and debt relief," the agencies stated.
Mr David Begg, Concern's chief executive, said there had been a lot of debate about the causes and where blame lay. "We want to say that regardless of whose fault it might be, there is now an opportunity to prevent real famine but it requires immediate action," he said.
GOAL's director, Mr John O'Shea, has described what is happening in Ethiopia as an outrage and a sad indictment of both the Ethiopian government and, to a lesser extent, the international community. "There is food in storage in Ethiopia, but why is it not being released to feed the hungry?" he said.