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Nick Danziger
Many animals continue to die for lack of
water and grazing pasture. Their value
has fallen by a half even though food
prices have doubled and in some cases
quintupled over the last year. Laseraat,
Somali region, Ethiopia.
REF:
Nick Danziger
These women have left their village in
search of food and water. Almost all the
children here are either malnourished or
severely malnourished. The only supply
of food or water they have found has
been distributed by a local NGO. They
would have once relied on milk as a
substitute for food, but those animals
that haven't already perished produce
only a fraction of what they would do if
healthy. Afar region, Ethiopia.
REF:
Nick Danziger
Two-year-old Halima Gaz with her
grandfather and carer Ali. Halima has
been severely brain-damaged since she
fell ill when she was 15 months old. She
had started walking and was developing
normally, but then got a fever, she wasn'
t treated with conventional medicine and
because of poor health awareness they
didn't know to cool her down and as a
result has suffered brain damaged.
Gabaiabora, Afar region, Ethiopia.
REF:
Nick Danziger
A severe drought, together with food
prices rising daily, has left millions
in Ethiopia in need of emergency food
assistance with thousands of children
requiring therapeutic feeding, but
remote and vulnerable villages such as
this one in the Afar region are
receiving only minimal food assistance.
Afar region, Ethiopia.
REF:
Nick Danziger
Valerie Browning, is an Australian nurse
who lives and works with the Afar. She
and her husband Ishmael Al Garod founded
the NGO, the Afar Pastoralists
Development Association (APDA) six years
ago. APDA is partly funded by Oxfam.
Afars affectionately call her Maalika (
Meaning queen or angel) and she has
dedicated the last 20 years of her life
to the Afar people. Gewane, Afar region,
Ethiopia.
REF:
![Unda Awka, had been slipping in and out
of consciousness through lack of food.
Maalika, [Meaning queen or angel.
Valerie Browning is her birth name], is
an Australian nurse who founded the NGO,
the Afar Pastoralists Development
Association (APDA) six years ago. APDA
is partly funded by Oxfam. Valerie says
of Unda Awka, "She probably had two days
to live - it's simply a food problem -
she needs to eat." Maalika was able to
give her two cups of baby food - enough
to give Unda Awka enough energy to sit
up and regain consciousness. Okarey-af,
Afar region,
Ethiopia](/thefacts/imagerepository/pa/121682063659/NDA_Oxfam_Ethiopia_b&w_18A.jpg)
Nick Danziger
Unda Awka, had been slipping in and out
of consciousness through lack of food.
Maalika, [Meaning queen or angel.
Valerie Browning is her birth name], is
an Australian nurse who founded the NGO,
the Afar Pastoralists Development
Association (APDA) six years ago. APDA
is partly funded by Oxfam. Valerie says
of Unda Awka, "She probably had two days
to live - it's simply a food problem -
she needs to eat." Maalika was able to
give her two cups of baby food - enough
to give Unda Awka enough energy to sit
up and regain consciousness. Okarey-af,
Afar region,
Ethiopia
REF:
Nick Danziger
Valerie Browning, is an Australian nurse
who lives and works with the Afar gives
a child the Middle Upper Arm
Circumference (MUAC) test. Like most of
the children she visited over a three-
day period the majority of children were
suffering borderline malnourishment (
under 12 centimetres in circumference).
Valerie Browning founded the NGO, the
Afar Pastoralists Development
Association (APDA) six years ago. APDA
is partly funded by Oxfam. Afar region,
Ethiopia.
REF:
![Fatima Lafatou with her two-year-old
daughter Dorro Mohammed. Dorro was fit
and healthy, and was walking before she
became ill with an infection and
chickenpox. Valerie Browning on Dorro
Mohammed's condition, "She [Dorro] was
treated for the infection with
antibiotic syrup, but they had no food,
and you cannot take repeated doses of
antibiotic syrup without food. I think
it has reduced her immunity and now she
is seriously ill. This is the problem.
These people need food - it was a choice
between food and medicine for her, and
they chose to buy medicine, but without
food it has been disastrous." Valerie
adds, "Even if this little girl lives
now, she is unlikely to walk again,
unless she gets nutrition right away,
and even then she will be living with
brain damage. Her brain is forming now
and it needs nutrition and
micronutrients like vitamins to grow
properly - this age is critical. What is
happening is a tragedy not just for her,
but for the community and the country. [
Because of a lack of food] children like
her are going to grow up unable to look
after themselves, unable to deal with
money, in need of constant care."
Gabaiabora, Afar region, Ethiopia.](/thefacts/imagerepository/pa/121682063659/NDA_Oxfam_Ethiopia_b&w_022.jpg)
Nick Danziger
Fatima Lafatou with her two-year-old
daughter Dorro Mohammed. Dorro was fit
and healthy, and was walking before she
became ill with an infection and
chickenpox. Valerie Browning on Dorro
Mohammed's condition, "She [Dorro] was
treated for the infection with
antibiotic syrup, but they had no food,
and you cannot take repeated doses of
antibiotic syrup without food. I think
it has reduced her immunity and now she
is seriously ill. This is the problem.
These people need food - it was a choice
between food and medicine for her, and
they chose to buy medicine, but without
food it has been disastrous." Valerie
adds, "Even if this little girl lives
now, she is unlikely to walk again,
unless she gets nutrition right away,
and even then she will be living with
brain damage. Her brain is forming now
and it needs nutrition and
micronutrients like vitamins to grow
properly - this age is critical. What is
happening is a tragedy not just for her,
but for the community and the country. [
Because of a lack of food] children like
her are going to grow up unable to look
after themselves, unable to deal with
money, in need of constant care."
Gabaiabora, Afar region, Ethiopia.
REF:
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
