World Bank Provides $480 Million to Combat Food Insecurity in Ethiopia

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2009 - The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank today approved a $350 million grant and a $130 million credit from the International Development Association to the Government of Ethiopia to support an innovative program that is keeping millions of families out of extreme poverty ....
Comment:The drought in Ethiopia, as it has always been, is caused by nature though some may argue it is also man made! Famine on the other hand is always man made. Unlike previous governments the EPRDF led government has made it clear that the number one enemy for Ethiopia is poverty. Thus, the government has been diligently busy laying the groundwork to defeat poverty as well as any starvation that follows drought years. So far the country has been spared. The World Bank, Donors and above all Ethiopians know that. The roads, clinics schools built and the many land rehabilitation works done are saving lives today. It is not for lack of drought Ethiopians are not becoming famine victim but for all the outstanding groundwork done and the programs put in place since the EPRDF came to power! Now it has become very obvious that there is light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the visionary leaders of Ethiopia who are addressing the need of the great majority of our diverse people.

Irresponsible reportage on the current drought situation

The BBC programme refers repeatedly to the 1984 catastrophic situation which, by no stretch of the imagination, is comparable to the current situation in Ethiopia. To use the 1984 drought footage to explain the current situation demonstrates a marked lack of respect for the Ethiopian people and an ignorance of the negative consequences it will have on Ethiopia’s overall endeavour to transform itself into a democratic and poverty-free nation. There are those who are hoping to relaunch their professional ambition on the backs of the 1984 famine. This puts their credibility in question at best and demonstrates a marked disregard for the welfare of many Ethiopians. They have an obligation to the public to keep to the facts as they stand and report accordingly, thereby ensuring their journalistic integrity and credibility. ...

Destabilization using the pen
It is not clear why some scholars find it difficult to exercise sound judgment when they write about the Horn of Africa, and Ethiopia in particular... Kjetil Trenvoll is a scholar who appears to have honed up his skills as a scribe by seeking sinister motives for everything that the EPRDF Government has done over the last 18 years.
See Also:   A Week in the Horn (23.10.2009)

Has anything changed since?
reflection on the 25th anniversary since the devastating famine of 1984 in Ethiopia...
During the years since the 1984 famine, things had begun to change in the area around Korem, and these changes made it possible for a young woman like Merzeneb to think about pursuing new options in life. Ethiopia's civil war ended. The regional and federal governments built roads. Irrigation was available in Ashenge. The government launched a safety net program that puts people to work planting trees and building terraces on the steep hillsides, so that farming doesn't degrade the land....(huffingtonpost.com)

Ethiopia records deflation for third month running
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has recorded a third straight month of deflation with an annual negative inflation rate of 4.1 percent in September on falling food prices, the government said on Tuesday.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said that a halt to government borrowing and a rise in bank reserves also underpinned the steadily declining rate in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous nation

UDJ disagrees with MEDREK Manifesto
Before the ink dries on the manifesto of the “biggest opposition party” coalition in Ethiopia, UDJ a key member of the coalition is distancing from the core principle, we were told, all coalition members have agreed. UDJ has a problem with the federal government structure, with the concept of nation and nationalities and group rights as well as land ownership issue. UDJ press release to the public has a litany of issues they listed as "do not agree with". Basically UDJ is saying it does not agree with what is said in the manifesto.

The question we have is what did they agree and what then is holding them to stay in the coalition if they disagree with main principle? If it is the enemy of my enemy is my friend philosophy that is holding MEDREK and UDJ, Ethiopia deserves a better opposition party! Hating EPRDF is not good politics and not a platform that can bring peace and prosperity to Ethiopia. Kinjit tried the hate politics and look where it ended up. UDJ and Mederk come clean with the electorate!

Bill Gates to Call for United Action to Support World's Poorest Farmers
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Announce $120 Million in New Agriculture Grants
DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Thursday will urge governments, donors, researchers, farmer groups, environmentalists, and others to set aside old divisions and join forces to help millions of the world's poorest farming families boost their yields and incomes so they can lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. Gates will say the effort must be guided by the farmers themselves, adapted to local circumstances, and sustainable for the economy and the environment

  ethiotube | diretube |  
Awde-Ethiopia(Degen)
Awde-Ethiopia(Selam)
TV Zete
ECTV
  EBS|