Ethiopia on brink of disaster

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia remains on the brink of disaster because it is failing to deal with spiralling population growth, slow economic growth and environmental degradation that fuels its near perpetual crises, a United Nations report said yesterday.

The study of the 2002-2003 food crisis said Ethiopia’s population grows by two million a year, while its economy expands by just three per cent. Agriculture accounts for nearly 40 per cent of GDP, but unsustainable land policies are fuelling ever-larger emergencies in the country.The 18-month crisis, during which 13 million Ethiopians faced food shortages, sparked the largest ever food aid response in Africa, with a massive 1,5 million tons of food shipped into the Horn of Africa nation.A senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that as many as 200 000 people, mainly children, died during the crisis — 1 000 during every month of the emergency.The Ethiopian government has not published any figures.- Nampa-APAgriculture accounts for nearly 40 per cent of GDP, but unsustainable land policies are fuelling ever-larger emergencies in the country.The 18-month crisis, during which 13 million Ethiopians faced food shortages, sparked the largest ever food aid response in Africa, with a massive 1,5 million tons of food shipped into the Horn of Africa nation.A senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that as many as 200 000 people, mainly children, died during the crisis — 1 000 during every month of the emergency.The Ethiopian government has not published any figures.- Nampa-AP