ETHIOPIA: FAMINE: SITUATION UPDATE (V)
(14 Apr 2000) English/Nat VOICED BY LOUISE BATES The United Nation's special envoy to the Horn of Africa says the lives of (m) millions of starving Ethiopians can be saved if international donors respond quickly. But the failure of expected annual rain means more relief food than originally estimated is now needed to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. Limited aid is slowly trickling in to the drought-stricken country - but for many people it's too little, too late. 0004 Starving children cry out for food - 0006 but their mothers can offer little comfort. 0009 The dark shadow of famine once again hangs heavy over Ethiopia. 0012 Already, people are suffering from eye and skin disorders as a result of lack of food. 0017 Bur Kayer is just one of the many villages where people wait, most of them in vain, for food relief. 0025 Many have seen famine before - they can't understand why it is happening again. 0029 This was once a prosperous and fertile region of Ethiopia. The river Wabe Shebele flows through here, but all the tributaries have dried up. Crops have perished, their animals have died, and now their stomachs are empty. Starving children lie listlessly in the heat. 0046 Their parents can only look on. 0050 Aid has finally begun to arrive in the Ogaden region - one of the areas worst affected by Ethiopia's drought. But flights are few and far between. 0102 SOUNDBITE: (English) "Delays that occur with some of the larger organisations and particularly with the U-N groups - the time that they assess the situation and they see the need until the time they can gear up to bring food to the people is unacceptably long. A smaller NGO can cut through a lot of the red tape. SUPERCAPTION: Fiona Quinn, Emergency co-ordinator for GOAL Ethiopia 0121 But for many of these people it is too little too late. In the last two months 300 people have died in Bur Kayer alone. This man is praying for the dead. If food is not brought here quickly, then hundreds more will perish. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
