USAID Assistant Administrator Michael Hess Visits Ethiopia to Assess Humanitarian Crisis
April 17, 2006
No. 10/06
Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) -- Mr. Michael Hess, Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the lead U.S Government (USG) agency for international humanitarian assistance, is visiting Ethiopia April 15-20. The USG remains concerned about the acute humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, where drought is affecting as many as 16 million people this year. In particular, 7-8 million pastoralist herders and farmers living in northeastern Kenya, southern Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and also Djibouti are facing severe shortages of water and food.
In Ethiopia, Mr. Hess will assess emergency needs and become familiar with the local and international response in Ethiopia to date. He will meet with UN Country Team members, government officials and other USAID partners working on the drought response and humanitarian needs. Mr. Hess will also visit sites in Butajira and Gode focusing on community-based therapeutic care, food security and household livelihood activities.
Prior to traveling to Ethiopia, Mr. Hess visited Kenya and Djibouti. This region has experienced several consecutive seasons of failed rains and poor harvests, leaving residents without the means to cope. The USG is preparing for a potential worsening of the crisis as spring rains in the region are not expected to be sufficient to provide relief. Conflict and insecurity also complicate humanitarian access.
The USG has provided more than $150 million in emergency humanitarian assistance since November 2005 in order to meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable populations of the region. This assistance includes food aid, emergency water and sanitation interventions, health and nutrition activities, and livelihood support. In addition to the significant on-going development assistance programs in the region, USAID will provide approximately $7 million to help increase sustainable sources of clean water.
The United States calls upon other donor nations as well as the Governments of Kenya and Ethiopia to increase their efforts to prevent another catastrophic famine in the Horn of Africa.
####
