Yesterday, a minister in the British government announced that England would be increasing its aid budget to Ethiopia. Approximately £38million will be arriving in the African country to help with the famine issues and the needs of 1.3 million starving people. Ethiopia is facing the worst drought that they’ve had for a decade, and the people are feeling it intensely.
10% Increase in Aid
With this pledge, the UK’s spending on Ethiopian aid is rising by more than 10% from £330million to £368million.
Explaining the increase in aid, the International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said:
“Through no fault of its own, the Horn of Africa is experiencing a severe drought caused by the failed rains. Britain is acting quickly to stop this crisis becoming a catastrophe. The country has made great strides in many areas over the past 30 years and this emergency relief will help to ensure that these gains are not eroded.”
Helping Those Most in Need
As part of the aid, there will be extra help for the 329,000 malnourished children in the country and treatment for mothers who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Jane Cocking, the director of Oxfam said that the government’s support is much needed. As she explained, “The money cannot come soon enough. There are already critical and life-threatening food shortages in Ethiopia. Two successive poor rains have left millions of people struggling to get food as hundreds of thousands of livestock have died and crops have failed. Other donors now need to follow suit and increase funding before it is too late.”
A Desperate Situation
Save the Children’s Matt Wingate also explained that, “Money pledged by the UK Government will mean that aid agencies can get life-saving help to hundreds of thousands more children and their families. Our staff are receiving more and more children on the verge of starvation in our feeding centers every day. We urgently need other rich countries and donors to follow the UK Government’s lead and give money now so we can stop children dying across the region.”