(August 28, 2011, Addis Ababa, ENA)--The Ethiopian-born secretary-general of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Bekele Geleta said his native country is better prepared to handle Africa's worst drought in decades than it was when millions died of starvation in the 1980s.
Twenty five years ago , it was terrible, recalled Bekele, who was working for the Geneva-based humanitarian group then. Now, he said in an interview with reporters, "governments are much more responsive ... much better prepared".
Bekele said the governments of Ethiopia and neighbouring Kenya now do "timely assessments and appeals" for outside humanitarian aid rather than wait until the situation is dire, like in 1984 when a famine hit Ethiopia, killing some one million people.
"I remember, I was there," he said. "Today in Ethiopia, yes, there is a shortage of food, there is serious malnutrition. But the death level is comparatively much, much lower."
Another difference between then and now is that "governments have managed to have social safety net programmes" such as food-for-work assistance, Bekele said. "The right things are getting done," he said.
Twenty five years ago , it was terrible, recalled Bekele, who was working for the Geneva-based humanitarian group then. Now, he said in an interview with reporters, "governments are much more responsive ... much better prepared".
Bekele said the governments of Ethiopia and neighbouring Kenya now do "timely assessments and appeals" for outside humanitarian aid rather than wait until the situation is dire, like in 1984 when a famine hit Ethiopia, killing some one million people.
"I remember, I was there," he said. "Today in Ethiopia, yes, there is a shortage of food, there is serious malnutrition. But the death level is comparatively much, much lower."
Another difference between then and now is that "governments have managed to have social safety net programmes" such as food-for-work assistance, Bekele said. "The right things are getting done," he said.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
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