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Hello again,
It has been a few months since our last blog post. In that time a lot has changed. We have welcomed two new members of staff in the UK and a new member of staff in Australia. Unfortunately, a lot has changed in Ethiopia too. Ethiopia is in the midst of another widespread famine due to the combined effects of drought, increased food prices and insufficient resources for preventative measures. Currently, over 4.5 million Ethiopians are in need of emergency food relief and thousands of children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition.
I have just stumbled across a controversial article on the Irish Independent News website which has sparked an interesting debate. The opinion piece, by Kevin Myers, suggests that Africa is beyond help and that aid should be discontinued. Myers truly believes that Africa is giving nothing to anyone - apart from AIDS. He asks "how much morality is there in saving an Ethiopian child from starvation today, for it to survive to a life of brutal circumcision, poverty, hunger, violence and sexual abuse, resulting in another half-dozen such wide-eyed children, with comparably jolly little lives ahead of them?"
Myers' piece has shocked and outraged a number of readers but it has generated a fantastic response from Helen Keogh, chief executive of World Vision Ireland. "Africa is far from being a lost cause - but we must help realise its potential...In Africa, a continent that was once dependent on foreign aid, there are now 16 countries that have achieved annual growth rates in excess of 4.5pc for more than a decade. Enrolment in primary schools increased across the continent from 72pc in 1990 to 93pc in 2004, and literacy rates have risen from 50pc in 1997 to 65pc in 2002. In Sub-Saharan Africa, half of the population now has access to clean water. Through medical aid, various diseases including smallpox and polio have been drastically reduced and some others eradicated".
Ethiopiaid is committed to creating lasting and positive change in Ethiopia by tackling the problems of poverty, ill health and poor education. Our staff in Ethiopia recently visited two rescue centres where medical assistance is being given to about 600 severely malnourished children, some on the verge of death. They estimate that are that 5 to 6 children dying there each day. More children who have not been able to reach the rescue centres are believed to be in the same predicament. We believe that Africa is far from being a lost cause and have sent £500,000 to provide food aid to those so desperately in need. What are your thoughts? Is Africa a lost cause?
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1 comment:
Great entry Sally. I can tell you from here in Dublin that Mr. Myers has been savaged in the court of public opinion; and may even find himself up in front of a court of law on various charges related to incitement of racial hatred. The fact remains that his comments were not only hurtful and damaging, they were also wildly inaccurate and so broad stroked so as to carry almost no weight whatsoever.
Even a cursory examination of developmental indicators conclusively proves that aid is making a difference in Africa. The Ethiopia that Mr. Reed first came to almost twenty years ago is unrecognisable from that which greets visitors today. In fact, if anything the problems seen in southern Ethiopia right now are the fault of us in the developed world, rather than the results of some intrinsic fault within Africa or Ethiopia. Climate change and a steep hike in global food prices- the two main factors which have led to the current crisis- are both direct consequences of our behaviour, not theirs; and the result is that 4.5 million people are at risk of famine.
Judging by the early responses to our Emergency Appeal, people not only disagree with Mr. Meyers, but are prepared to invest their own hard-earned money in Africa's future; and actions such as these speak infinitely louder than Mr. Meyer's caustic words.
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