The World Food Crisis: Impact on children requiring food assistance in Ethiopia

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The World Food Crisis Impact on children
requiring food assistance in Ethiopia

• Presentation to the
• Third International Policy Conference on
• The African Child
• 12 May 2008
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Jakob Mikkelsen
• Head, Nutrition and Education, UN WFP Ethiopia

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the perfect storm

• global food prices soaring
• global grain stocks lowest for 30 years
• restricted trade and tight supply
• more intense, more frequent weather disasters
• competing demands for food crops
• income growth, changing diets in emerging
  economies
• record prices of oil

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soaring prices
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countries most at risk

• those importing high proportion of food
  requirements
• those with limited international reserves
• those already facing inflationary pressure
• those whose populations spend a large proportion
  of household income on food
• those experiencing an additional shock such as
  extreme weather or conflict

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map of countries most at risk
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risks of impact on the MDGs

• there will be rise in both the depth and
  incidence of hunger/malnutrition
• school attendance will decline

• MDG 1 eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• MDG 4 reduce child mortality
• MDG 2 achieve universal primary education

• health status will decline
• increased maternal mortality
• less HIV/AIDS nutrition

• MDG 5 improve maternal health
• MDG 6 combat HIV/AIDS, malaria

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the case of Ethiopia

• Ethiopia is the second most populous country in
  Africa hosting an estimated 79 million people of
  which 41 million are children under 18 years of
  age.
• 13 million children under five years of age.
• Nutritional status of children under five
• 47 stunted (height-for-age) (52 in 2000)
• 11 wasted (weight-for-height) (11 in 2000)
• 38 underweight (weight-for-age) (47 in 2000)
• Ethiopia is amongst the countries in the world
  with the highest rate of school age children with
  special needs, mainly attributed to impairments
  from malnutrition. Average of IQ 15 points lower
  than world average
• 900,000 orphaned children due to AIDS and 65,000
  HIV OVC

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children getting food support in Ethiopia

• children from drought affected households
• children from chronically food insecure
  households in the Safety Net Programme
• malnourished children (incl. unborn children
  pregnant women)
• orphans and vulnerable children (urban)
• school children in food insecure areas
• children in food insecure households undertaking
  sustainable land management initiatives to
  regenerate their farm land
• refugee children

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recent WFP experience in Ethiopia

• Prices on food and fuel affects WFPs ability to
  respond to identified needs
• Programmes with children as prime target groups
  (Targeted supplementary food, OVC support and
  school feeding) have experienced 50 increase in
  programme costs since May 2007.
• Consequence Food based programmes need
  additional 50 funding. Otherwise the choices are
  to change the support to cash-based support (in
  an inflationary environment) or reduce the number
  of children receiving support.
• Ethiopia prone to natural disasters level of
  vulnerability already high drought occurring at
  the moment in southern parts of the country

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risks for children in Ethiopia

• Due to resource constraints, WFP has already had
  to reduce its intervention assisting moderately
  malnourished children under five and
  pregnant/breastfeeding women gt slow or no
  recovery gt increased vulnerability and in worst
  case child deaths

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immediate response required

• Financial and material support to programmes
  assisting children in drought affected areas
  (especially malnourished children)
• Strengthen the Productive Safety Net Programme to
  further enhance chronically food insecure
  households resilience to shocks
• Assess impacts on urban children (OVC in
  particular) and ensure adequate support
• Planning for long term support Increased
  agricultural production and terms of trade
  equal distribution of resources

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story from rural Ethiopia

• Worke was identified as malnourished through the
  Enhanced Outreach Strategy (EOS) that provides
  health services and screening for acute
  malnutrition for children under 5 and pregnant
  and breast feeding women.
• I was worried about my son because he was
  getting weak and did not want to eat anything. I
  was afraid that he will get thinner and thinner.
  I saw children die like that., Workes mother
  said.
• As part of the EOS, Worke received 2 rounds of
  supplementary food ration to help him recover and
  prevent him from becoming severely malnourished.
• I prepared the food in the way the Food
  Distribution Agent taught me and made sure that
  Worke ate it properly. Now he plays and runs
  around with the other children again. I am very
  happy that he is healthy again.