In the easternmost Somali region of Ethiopia, residents have seen the absence of what should have been three consecutive rainy seasons.
Drought comes and goes, but Zainab Wali, a resident of the area, told a visiting team with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that she and her seven children had never seen anything like this before.
She said the government distributed food and fodder crops during the dry season, which was five years ago.
And she added, “This time we don’t have enough food for our family,” according to “The Associated Press.”
According to a statement by UNICEF on Tuesday, it expects that more than six million people in Ethiopia will need urgent humanitarian assistance by mid-March.
The Federation of Somali NGOs said in a separate statement that more than seven million Somalis need urgent aid, and appealed to international donors to provide more.
The union added that this may be the worst drought in the region in forty years.
Hafsa Bidel, a resident of the Somali region of Ethiopia, told the UNICEF team, “Only one month has passed since the long dry season, and I have already lost 25 goats and sheep, in addition to four camels, and there is no pasture left,” stressing that she does not have enough food for her family. Including her six children.
UNICEF estimates that more than 150,000 children in these areas of Ethiopia have dropped out of education to help fetch scarce water for their families and do other household chores.