International Medical Corps Health Alert

Photo: International Medical Corps

A mother holds her malnourished child at International Medical Corps’ outpatient therapeutic feeding clinic in Bolosso Sorie, Ethiopia. The compounding effects of drought and rising food prices have made basic staples unaffordable to many in Ethiopia.

Los Angeles, Calif. / Addis Ababa – International Medical Corps (IMC) teams in the eastern and southern parts of Ethiopia are witnessing sharp increases in the number of severely malnourished children arriving at feeding centers for treatment. In some instances, the numbers are six-fold those of just two months ago.

The situation is deteriorating rapidly throughout Ethiopia as the food-insecure regions of Oromiya and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region face repeated shocks, including failure of rains, a subsequent poor harvest, and rising food prices. In the last year, the price of staples in Ethiopia such as cooking oil and teff, which is used to make traditional bread, have more than doubled. Lentils, also a staple, have quadrupled in price. In the U.S. this would be equivalent to a gallon of milk jumping from $3.80 to over $15. With most Ethiopian families living below just $2 a day, maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is difficult, if not impossible.

At International Medical Corps’ outpatient therapeutic feeding centers, the number of new cases of severe malnutrition doubled from almost 600 in January to nearly 1,300 in April. More than 3,700 severely malnourished children were admitted between February and April 2008 alone, and admissions are continuing to rise at an alarming rate. In the first two weeks of May 2008, Goro Gutu Health Center in Oromiya Region admitted 138 severely malnourished children, many with additional medical conditions that increase the likelihood of mortality.

In recent years, Ethiopia had made great strides in battling severe malnutrition by providing blanket or supplementary feeding to low-income families, improving medical care services and boosting agricultural capacity. However, the country has been devastated by the combination of drought, rising global food and fuel prices, and sudden and widespread food shortages. When children lack food and become severely malnourished, they not only face hunger, but also vitamin deficiency, stunted growth, and vulnerability to childhood illnesses, all of which can have life-long debilitating effects.

“Without immediate additional interventions, thousands of children are at grave risk of starvation and disease,” Says Seifu Woldeamanuel, International Medical Corps country director in Ethiopia. “Therapeutic feeding, general food distributions, vitamin supplements, vaccinations, and agricultural assistance are all urgently needed.”

UNICEF estimates as many as six million children under age five are at risk of acute malnutrition. At least 3.4 million Ethiopians are in immediate need of emergency food assistance. Both UNICEF and the World Food Program (WFP) have experienced food shortages themselves. Nonprofit agencies such as International Medical Corps are now requesting cash contributions rather than donations of food so that food can be purchased quickly and locally to treat acute malnutrition as transportation costs rise.

Photo: International Medical Corps

A malnourished child is weighed in Bolosso Sorie, Ethiopia. International Medical Corps’ nutritional programs have seen an enormous spike in the number of malnourished children just in the past few months alone.

Skyrocketing prices of fuel, among other commodities, are making even basic food staples too expensive for families in much of the developing world. With food prices expected to remain high until at least 2009, people’s ability to maintain a balanced diet is greatly reduced. At the food crisis summit currently taking place in Rome, world leaders are trying to tackle the different factors that have led to higher food costs, such as biofuel subsidies, trade restrictions, and greater global demand. UN chief Ban Ki-Moon called for a 50 percent increase in global food production by 2030 to satisfy the increasing demand for food.

International Medical Corps’s nutrition and food security programs target women and children in Africa and both prevent and treat malnutrition. This is achieved by supporting community-based management of acute malnutrition; increasing food diversity by enabling communities to grow fruits and vegetables; and raising household income through livelihood projects.

Since its inception nearly 25 years ago, International Medical Corps’ mission has been consistent: relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. For more information visit our website at www.imcworldwide.org.