As the worst humanitarian crisis in six decades sweeps across the Horn of Africa, a veteran Canadian aid worker in Ethiopia is urging Canadians not to be indifferent.
“I would hope that people don’t think, ‘Ethiopia, here we go again,’ ” said Sam Vander Ende, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank field representative in Ethiopia for 19 years.
“Canadians have a great image as humanitarians. There is a need and we have to respond. That’s who we are.”
He noted that Ethiopia is one of the largest recipients of Canadian aid and development assistance, second only to Afghanistan.
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And since Canada has no political goals in Ethiopia, the support is seen as genuine and not self-centred.
“We can leverage that good will because we don’t have geo-political interests in Ethiopia, to keep issues of human rights and due process on the front burner,” he said.
The church-based and farmer-supported agency announced last week that it has committed $2.4 million to help 46,000 people in the midst of the crisis.
The need is far greater.
International agencies estimate that 11 million people are affected by a drought that is spreading across Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia.
Many people are on the move into refugee camps and most are smallholder farm families.
Cattle are dying from lack of feed and Canadian aid groups are responding with food aid, replacement livestock and seeds for when the rain comes.
The Ethiopian government has issued a plea for almost 380,000 tonnes of food aid or more than $290 million to buy food.
Vander Ende said there is a danger of donor fatigue because the Horn of Africa, and Ethiopia in particular, has been subject to so many droughts and food crises in recent decades.
However, he said this is not just a repeat of previous weather-induced droughts. Each crisis has its own causes.
Rain hasn’t fallen, but Vander Ende said part of the problem this time is also politics.
The government decided after a 2002 famine that it wanted to end the country’s dependence on food aid. As a result, it has been over-estimating the amount of food produced in the country and therefore the food deficit.
In addition, it waited to declare the situation a “regional crisis” so it would not reflect strictly on Ethiopia.
“Since the 2002 famine, the government has said there will be no more famines on its watch,” he said.
“But I think the process of calculating food needs is flawed and the figures are flawed. There is a problem with production and weather, but the government has been downplaying it and now there is a real crisis. That is exactly the situation.”
The foodgrains bank is appealing to Canadians to donate to help alleviate the crisis. More projects will be needed in the future.
“We are very concerned about the drought and will continue to do what we can to help,” international program director Joan Barkman said in a statement.
Donations can be made by calling 800-665-0377 or visiting www.foodgrainsbank.ca.
