Ethiopia Need Not Starve Again : Prescription for Action Can Help Us Overcome Defeatism Among Donors

The disturbing thoughts racing through my mind finally crystallized with chilling clarity. It had been a long, depressing day making the rounds of various government agencies in Washington. We were updating the famine reports from Ethiopia, comparing notes with the latest returning officials, working out details for getting more food from the government to distribute to hungry people.

The gloom thickened immediately when I told them that 1.3 million metric tons of food would have to be provided to Ethiopia to preclude the horrific effects of more mass starvation. The answer came with blunt resignation: “It’s academic. We’ve long since passed the point where Ethiopia can accommodate all the food she needs.” The occasional backlogs at the docks, the poor roads, the armed conflict, the lack of trucks and the inaccessibility of mountainous areas all combine to make it difficult to get food to hungry people. In simpler terms, I was being told that it seemed impossible.

The explanations cannot mask the overarching truth: Famine had returned to Ethiopia, and this spring and summer it could be larger and more destructive than the one in 1984-86. Despite an early-warning system, a more responsive Ethiopian government, overflowing grain bins in Iowa, wiser charitable organizations and even a hint of late-season rain, people will die because of a pervasive feeling that Ethiopia is beyond help.

I disagreed with that gloomy assessment then, and I disagree with it now. What disturbs me most is that in all the gnashing of teeth about the difficulties that we face, people have forgotten that three years ago the world responded in a fashion unmatched in history. More than 2 million people were saved as emergency food, short-term medical volunteers and fleets of trucks were rushed to Ethiopia. There were challenges, yes. But audit reports from the U.S. Agency for International Development and others estimate that more than 90% of the aid reached those whom it was intended to help. Private agencies with their own staffs in Ethiopia report an even higher percentage of food reaching its eventual destinations.

In some areas of the country environmental, agricultural and economic development work has begun. Several weeks ago I stood on the floor of the Ansokia Valley, looking up at terraced, reforested hillsides. Irrigation water from catch basins and drinking water from wells flowed freely. The people were anticipating a large harvest of fruit and vegetables that few others in Ethiopia would see. Ansokia is likely to be spared the ravages of this famine because in just two years the residents, with help, have worked to develop the land and ensure future survival.

Ansokia is a living symbol of what is possible. But creating more Ansokia Valley success stories means mounting a major international response to the looming crisis and establishing longer-term self-help projects.

We also need movement in the following areas:

--Both the Ethiopian government and its opposition groups must adhere to a joint plan for the safe passage of food aid to affected people in the northern provinces of Tigre and Eritrea. There is no excuse for the destruction of food convoys and the use of innocent people as political pawns.

--The Ethiopian government activated an early-warning system and recently instituted agricultural pricing, free trade and quota reforms that could spur long- term production. As further evidence of its desire to help the country, the government might also consider ways to facilitate food aid--like abolishing import fees.

--Historically, the American government has provided the lion’s share of aid. U.S. government grants for “food for work” aid--allowing private agencies to hire and feed Ethiopians involved in building dams, digging wells and performing other valuable projects--should continue to supplement emergency food shipments.

--Other Western governments should be challenged by the U.S. government to follow its lead.

--Americans must once again exhibit their compassion and meet both short- and long-term needs. Three-to-five-year assistance for water, health and agricultural development projects is critical. “U.S.A. for Africa” has been criticized by some for dispensing funds over a three-year period. That practice of using funds for well-planned development should be fostered and encouraged rather than criticized. Let’s equip the Ethiopian people so that they can become self-sufficient.

--Finally, aid agencies should continue to work together to share resources and personnel.

This is a prescription for action. The alternative of doing nothing is unthinkable to Americans who value compassion and the dignity of human life. We cannot rest on excuses or we may, in 20/20 hindsight, utter this biblical lament: “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”