Page 19 - Despa

WORLD NEWS A11
U.S. pledges $97M to
combat Ethiopia’s drought
PAUL SCHEMM
ELIAS MESERET
Associated Press
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
(AP) — The U.S. has boost-
ed its emergency food aid
to Ethiopia by nearly $100
million to combat one of
the worst droughts in de-
cades, the U.S. Agency for
International Development
announced Sunday.
The aid is urgently needed
to head off a humanitarian
disaster brought on by the
El Nino climate phenome-
non that has affected sea-
sonal rains, USAID adminis-
trator Gayle Smith said.
“The funding for this is not there. Ban visited a food
where it needs to be and
Oxfam: $1.9B in Ebola aid
not delivered by donors
ROBBIE COREY-BOULET
Associated Press
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP)
— International donors
have failed to deliver $1.9
billion in promised funds to
help West African countries
recover from the Ebola
epidemic that killed more
than 11,000 people and
decimated already weak
health care systems, the
U.K.-based charity Oxfam
said Sunday.
The remaining $3.9 billion
pledged has been difficult
to track because of “scant
information” and a lack of
transparency, the group
said. “We’re finding it hard
to understand which do-
nors have given what mon-
ey, to whom and for what
purpose,” said Aboubacry
Tall, Oxfam’s regional di-
rector for West Africa.
Oxfam called on donors
and the governments of
Sierra Leone, Liberia and
Monday 1 February 2016
we are up against very met with farmers and relief Ziway Dugda district communities waiting for food distribution at
tight timelines,” she said at workers. Ogolcha food centre in a drought stricken area in Ziway Dugda
a briefing during the an- “This challenge may last district, during UN Secretary General, Ban Ki moon’s visit to Ethi-
nual African Union summit, some time. With the contin- opia, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016.
which ended Sunday. “This ued and concerted effort,
is the worst El Nino in history I think we can overcome. Associated Press
and it has affected the Afri- And I (am) very much
can continent in particular, moved to have seen how ple. Since October 2014, been met by donors.
most dramatically in Ethio- hard the people are work- the U.S. has given $532 mil- Smith said the U.S. will urge
pia where 11 million people ing,” Ban said. lion in humanitarian aid to other international do-
have been affected.” The El Nino warming over Ethiopia. The U.N. has is- nors to step in and support
On Sunday, U.N. Secretary- the Pacific Ocean has sued an international ap- Ethiopia’s efforts to deliver
General Ban Ki-moon visit- been particularly severe peal for $1.4 billion in emer- food aid and preserve the
ed Ethiopia’s Ziway-Dugda this year with spring and gency funding for Ethiopia, development gains of the
region, one of the areas hit summer rains failing in Ethi- of which less than half has last two decades.
by drought, where he was opia and causing crops to
welcomed by thousands fail and killing livestock.
of residents in the streets of The $97 million from USAID
Ogolcho, the biggest town will include about 176,000
metric tons of food to be
distribution center, and distributed to 4 million peo-
In this Wednesday, March 11, 2015 file photo, health workers
carry a body of a person that they suspected died form the Ebo-
la virus at a new graveyard on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia.
Associated Press
Guinea — the three hard- ola Recovery Conference
est-hit countries — to pro- in New York last July. At
vide detailed information least $1.9 billion of that “still
on how aid is being pro- has not been allocated
vided. to a specific country in a
More than $5 billion was pledge statement let alone
pledged by the interna- through more firm commit-
tional community as part of ments to specific recovery
a special International Eb- programs.”