SENIOR UNICEF OFFICIAL BEGINS VISIT TO ETHIOPIA TO ASSESS DROUGHT SITUATION

SENIOR UNICEF OFFICIAL BEGINS VISIT TO ETHIOPIA TO ASSESS DROUGHT SITUATION New York, Jun 19 2008 6:00PM The deputy chief of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) arrived in Ethiopia today for the start of a four-day visit to review the humanitarian situation in the south and southeast of the country, which has become parched by drought.

Hilde Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of <"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF, is expected to meet with Government officials, UN agencies, key donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) while in Ethiopia, according to a statement released in Addis Ababa, the capital.

As many as 4.6 million Ethiopians are now in need of immediate humanitarian assistance because of a lack of seasonal rains, coupled with rising food prices. The worst affected areas are in three administrative states of the Horn of Africa country: Oromio, Somali Region and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR).

Children are among the hardest-hit by the current conditions, with about 75,000 children estimated to be facing severe acute malnutrition already.

Earlier this month the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) revised its appeal for Ethiopia to at least $325 million to meet the growing demand for aid.
2008-06-19 00:00:00.000

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