Aid organization Doctors Without Borders (AzG) is deeply concerned about the food crisis in Ethiopia. The northeastern region of Afar in particular is suffering from malnutrition due to, among other things, climate change and rising food prices. The aid organization counted 35 children there who died in the past two months as a result of malnutrition.
MSF states that in a hospital supported by the aid organization three to four times more children with malnutrition are admitted than normal. The number of deaths at the Dupti hospital in question has risen by 20 percent in recent weeks.
“In two days, 41 children have been admitted with serious abdominal infections because they are forced to drink from muddy puddles,” said Raphael Veicht, MSF emergency coordinator in Ethiopia. To help the many malnutrition patients, the hospital is being expanded with a nutrition clinic and more extensive first aid. Better sanitation and a reliable water source are desperately needed, according to the aid organization.
The medical facilities in the Afar region are barely functioning. MSF estimates that only 20 percent of medical facilities are functioning properly. Many facilities have been destroyed, looted or understaffed by combat.
According to MSF, things are going from bad to worse in northeast Ethiopia. Major conflicts and the war in Ukraine contribute to the food shortage. In addition, there is hardly any access to clean water and healthcare.
Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from the consequences of the food crisis, the aid organization reports. The conflict-displaced people (between 300,000 and 600,000) are particularly affected by malnutrition. This is not only an issue in Afar, but also in other parts of Ethiopia.