Nairobi — More than 12 million people are now in immediate need of food aid in Ethiopia, representing an increase of more than 1 million people at risk of starvation since the last assessment in November 2002. This follows a disastrous year of little or no rain, widespread crop failures have led to critical food shortages.

Until recently, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and other relief agencies have managed to avert widespread starvation by distributing food borrowed from the Ethiopian Government's Food Security Reserve.

However, areas not previously seen as vulnerable are now in immediate need of assistance, requiring an additional 80 000 metric tons (MT) of food until December 2003, and stretching available resources dangerously thin.

The total amount of food aid required through December is now 944 280 MT, yet pledges to date from donor countries will not meet these needs.

Because of this shortage, the Government of Ethiopia's Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission has imposed a reduced grain ration of 12.5 kg per person instead of the internationally accepted 15 kg until the entire grain requirement is pledged by the international community.

"Already we are using reduced grain ration sizes to spread the resources to as many affected areas as possible," said Anne Bousquet, Country Representative for CRS in Ethiopia.

"Also," she said, "some of the most vulnerable populations have received little or no supplementary food during the last several months due to insufficient pledges and delayed shipments."

The next shipment of supplementary food from the U.S. Agency for International Development is not scheduled to arrive before the end of May.

CRS is also distributing a locally purchased supplementary food (Unimix) to selected vulnerable communities and providing basic medicine, water rehabilitation and seed distribution to help farmers rehabilitate from the current crisis.

Neighbouring Eritrea is among other African countries faced with starvation.

Relevant Contact: Zelleke Shibeshi (Emergency Coordinator/Ethiopia) - zellekesh@crsethiopia.org; or 251-1-652767 or 653593. (Source: CRS)