Offaly aid worker pleads with public not to ignore suffering in Africa

Think about that, and compare it to the hottest ever temperature we’ve ever experienced here in Ireland, just over 33 degrees.

On the other side of the African continent, in the southern countries of Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, soaring temperatures combined with a complete absence of rainfall has pushed food production systems – reliant on small-scale farmers, to near breaking point. Maize (corn) harvests have failed, and millions of people are receiving emergency aid.

Unfolding away from the spotlight of the international media and our world, Ethiopia, a country that is very close to my heart, as it’s from here where my wife Jacqui and I adopted our two beautiful daughters, is in the midst of an unprecedented hunger crisis, with many areas of East and southern Africa also affected. A  deadly combination of drought, conflict and crop failure has left millions of people in a desperate situation.  The awful  conflicts and loss of life being endured by people in Gaza, and the ongoing war in  Ukraine, have allowed little space for Africa’s precarious challenges to break through  and into wider public consciousness.

From Sudan and Somalia to Ethiopia and northern Kenya, East Africa these days is a region in crisis, with experts describing it as caught in a lethal vice formed on one side by conflicts and on the other by extreme weather events and are now fueling one of the world’s most severe food crises.  Across the Horn of Africa alone which takes in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Somalia, nearly 64 million people are in need of humanitarian and protection assistance. The region accounts for around 22% of the global humanitarian caseload in our world at present.

A dire situation in Ethiopia

Looking at Ethiopia, the current situation is dire. According to the UN, conflict and successive climate shocks have pushed over 21 million people in Ethiopia into humanitarian need in 2024. And the worst could be yet to come. Almost 11 million people are predicted to be critically food insecure in the country during the upcoming lean season from July to September. (source 2)

People living in the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions are amongst the worst affected by conflict, over the course of a civil war over the past number of years that left over 600,000 civilian people dead according to  best estimates which have been put together by  Jan Nyssen, a geographer at Ghent University in Belgium, who has calculated that up to 600,000 non-combatants died during the Tigrayan war in Ethiopia. Many of them starved to death and if one adds fighters who died in combat, the total number of deaths could approach close to 1 million.    The impact has been far-reaching, with millions of children missing years of school as a result of the war. 

Those that have lived through the atrocities of the war are now facing crisis levels of food insecurity and hunger. Most of North Ethiopia is now classified as having ‘emergency’ levels of acute food insecurity.  It has been prolonged by a terrible food crisis, with abandoned farms, dead cattle and crops at a standstill. In the meantime, famine has set in and the death toll is rising. Also many parts of southern Ethiopia have been affected by drought and extreme climate shocks, as well as flash flooding in places. Millions of people and children have been displaced. 

Self Help Africa on the ground in Ethiopia

Self Help Africa is on the ground in Ethiopia, delivering emergency supplies to thousands of families in the grip of a food and security crisis in Ethiopia’s Amhara, Afar and Tigray regions. Here, crops have failed, families have been displaced, the movement of people and aid has been restricted in some areas. Access to healthcare and health supplies remains limited. 

In partnership with UNICEF, the World Health Organisation and the Regional Health Bureau, Self Help Africa’s local team are using their logistics experience to deliver life-saving aid kits containing cholera, malaria and medical supplies to families and health facilities in conflict-affected South Gonder, East Gojam, West Gojam and Awi zones.

Having worked with rural farmers in Tigray, Amhara, Afar and other regions in Ethiopia for the last 40 years, we’re also using our agricultural expertise at Self Help Africa to distribute 69 tonnes of seed to 3,200 farmers in 13 districts with the World Food Programme. 

Furthermore, with financial support from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), Self Help Africa worked with over 15,250 vulnerable community members in Ethiopia, through life-saving interventions in East Gojam, Amhara region. 

It is hoped that these interventions, including climate-resilient seeds - will enable particularly vulnerable farming families to kickstart their food production - improving both their income, and their access to nutritious food. This is crucial in addressing startling malnutrition rates, particularly amongst young children. 

Fatima’s Story 

During a recent trip to Ethiopia, I visited the North Shewa region and saw first-hand, a camp where Self Help Africa are working with over 80,000 displaced people. Here, the numbers of displaced people are growing, and the conditions are absolutely extremely inhumane. Water and sanitation is a huge issue. There are few latrines. Drinking water is scarce. Despite having been involved in humanitarian efforts for three decades, the situation here shocked me. It was far worse than I expected. 

I met Fatima, sitting on a makeshift bed in a camp with her 20 day old newborn baby clutched to her chest. She'd just arrived at the camp with her husband a few weeks earlier, after walking for days on an empty stomach. "We came here because we had no food and it was dangerous to remain where we were. We left behind our small farm. We had no livestock left and our crops  were dead in the fields. We had to leave to survive and we have now ended up here. Please ask your organisation and the world not to turn a blind eye to this flagrant humanitarian tragedy and our suffering."  Despite this situation, Fatima remained determined: “I will move on again if I need to. Only God knows what the future holds for all of us. We are surviving on what others give to us. Thank you so much Ronan for helping me and my family.”

The Potential of Agriculture 

In addition to our humanitarian efforts, Self Help Africa is implementing a number of development projects across Ethiopia. At the core of our work here is increasing farm production, supporting new enterprises and developing market opportunities for farmers.

With the right long-term investments, agriculture can be a solution to hunger in Africa. Self Help Africa is supporting farmers at local, national and regional levels to improve crop yields and profitability by providing better access to markets, quality seed, training and support. Reaping the benefits of growing alternative and climate-resistant crops relies on farmers having the knowledge to manage them. To achieve this, training and education is hugely important. 

With so many people in Ethiopia - and all across Africa - relying directly on farming for their survival and economic well being, it stands to reason that improved farming - where people can grow more, earn more, and have a variety of crops from which to make a living - means people can cope better as these ongoing crises continue. 

Working Together, We Can Make A Difference

The capacity to lend a helping hand to those who need it, is a measure of our humanity. War, drought and hunger have a human face. 

I’m confident that with the support of Irish Aid through the Irish Government, working together with Self Help Africa and other Irish NGOs in Ethiopia and East Africa and across a range of our other programme countries - and with the generosity of the Irish public, that we can have a positive impact on the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. 

I understand that these are difficult times, and we are facing many global challenges. But if you can spare any amount, no matter how small, to support Self Help Africa’s work, it all adds up to make a huge difference to the lives of families in Ethiopia and beyond. To find out more about our work or to make a donation, please visit  www.selfhelp africa.org.