Drought has once again hit Ethiopia triggering another humanitarian crisis in the country. Ethiopia first caught the attention of the international community 24 years back when famine and inhuman policies by the Ethiopian government killed over a million Ethiopians in 1984. Drought and hunger has remained a chronic problem in the country with famine striking the major coffee producing country at regular intervals. This year’s poor rains have once again brought a massive food crisis that had become further aggravated by the rising global food prices.

The worst victims of this year’s Ethiopian famine are undoubtedly the country’s children. An estimated 126,000 Ethiopian children urgently need food and medical care according to the U.N. children’s agency. Chronic malnutrition is adversely affecting the physical and mental development of these children who, due to weak immune systems, have become vulnerable to a host of diseases.

Ethiopia’s food insecurity is largely structural caused by nature and the people of the country as well. The annual growth in agriculture at 2.4 percent is behind its burgeoning population growth at 2.8 percent. While there is shortfall in agricultural growth, rising population is aggravating Ethiopia’s food crisis. There has been lack of investment in the food deficit areas while the surplus producing areas have been badly hit by volatile food prices hindering further investment in the regions. With little integration between surplus and deficit areas, poor marketing and transport, urban Ethiopians benefit at the cost of the poor Ethiopians largely living in the rural areas and depending on agriculture for their livelihood.

via: msnbc