The Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia launch an Appeal for 10.2 Million Ethiopians threatened by Hunger

The Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia have launched an appeal to church agencies and to organisations and people of good will to respond to an emergency food shortage in the country, following a  severe drought which has left 10.2 million people  without food. Below is their statement.

Statement from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia on the Current Food Security situation in the Country Issued During the 38th Ordinary Meeting

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome,” (Matt 25: 35).

We, the Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia, have been closely monitoring the current drought situation in the country. As at the moment the effects of the drought are becoming of great consequences to our people and it is one of the issues we discussed during our 38th ordinary meeting that took place from December 14 - 18, 2015 in Addis Ababa.

The Federal Government of Ethiopia has officially declared in December 2015 that 10.2 million people are affected by the drought and are facing food shortage and related problems. The drought that is caused as a consequence of climate change and environmental degradation, is affecting 9 Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Ethiopian Catholic Church. As announced by the Humanitarian Requirement Document declared by Government and Partners jointly states and as we, the Bishops of the Ethiopian Catholic Church, have learnt through our continuous monitoring the emergency, situation is as never been experienced before in the country.

 The El Nino effects have significantly brought a negative impact on the lives of the people because of failed rain. As Pope Francis stated “Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry. They have no other financial activities or resources which can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters, and their access to social services and protection is very limited” (Laudato Si, 25). Particularly in Ethiopia, the severity of the situation is continuously increasing as is the number of the people affected and the hot spot districts. Official documents show that a total of 1.4 Billion USD is required to respond to the crisis.

Currently the government of Ethiopia is collaborating with partners and vigorously working to address the food shortage crisis. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia appreciates all the efforts of the government and all the Non Government Humanitarian Actors that are engaged in this life saving efforts in these drought affected areas. The Catholic Church in Ethiopia, in collaboration with partners of the Caritas-family and Non-Caritas organization is also trying to do her part in reaching out to the vulnerable community with emergency response projects. Recently an emergency appeal has been launched through Caritas Internationalis to raise funds for this life saving purpose.

This emergency response programs are also particularly important because it moves beyond from providing food to protecting families from being dispersed and also saving the youth from migration. As Pope Francis states in Laudato Si, changes in climate to which animals and plants adapt, affect the livelihood of the poor, who are forced to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for their future and that of their children (25). Due to climate change, as the International Office for Migration displacement tracking shows, currently 821,400 people have been displaced because of the drought, floods and communal conflicts. It is not difficult to imagine the fate of the youth, among the displaced people, who will be taking the risk of migrating to other countries through illegal means in search of work and better life. This will leave the elderly parents without children, wives will be left without husband who are in many cases the bread winners of the family and women and girls will be subjected to different violence and abuse as has been seen from previous experiences of undocumented migration.

Thus, the Catholic Church in Ethiopia is committed to partner with the government and other stakeholders in filling the humanitarian and spiritual gaps in the ongoing emergency humanitarian response. Provision of emergency food in one major aspect of the intervention but emergency health care and disease control, livestock restocking are also very important needs at the moment.

We, the Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia, therefore encourage all partners to continue the good work they are implementing and at the same time we encourage the private sector to get more involved in these life saving efforts.

Finally, we call upon our Caritas Network Family and other Catholic and Non-Catholic international partners to respond to our Emergency Appeal (EA 34/2015) generously as usual and support us to reach out to the community that is drastically affected by the drought caused by climate change and the effects of El Nino. It cannot be stressed enough that immediate and continuous humanitarian actions are needed to save lives and ensure a sustainable family system.

Let God provide and protect those who need His providence!    God Bless Ethiopia!

 

† Cardinal Berhaneyesus D. Souraphiel, C.M

Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa

President of Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia

Chairman of AMECEA