Addis Abeba, October 11 (WIC)
The Israeli government donated 165 metric tons of blended food for Ethiopian children in drought affected areas; the first time when Israel provides such humanitarian assistance.
Matiwos Hunde, Director of the Early Warning and Response Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture, yesterday received the truck load of relief food from Oded Ben-Haim, Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia.
“This is the first time when Israel provided a direct donation to Ethiopia,” said the ambassador. “We mainly provide capacity building assistance to the country and I am honored to present the humanitarian assistance”.
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the children affected by the drought, Matiwos highlighted the significance of the humanitarian assistance.
“The government and its humanitarian partners have been doing their level best to address the need through food distribution to targeted populations,” said the director.
“The assistance is timely because occasionally inadequate recourses, especially blended food, forced beneficiaries to receive incomplete food basket and reduced ration rate,” Matiwos said.
The relief food item, Corn Soya Chickpeas Blend (CSB Plus), was purchased from Faffa Foods SC with an estimated amount of 2.4 million birr. CSB Plus is especially made for children and constitutes heat treated maize, soya beans, chickpeas, vitamins and minerals.
The La Nina triggered drought in the Horn of Africa has affected over 11 million people in the region and causing famine in parts of Somalia. According to the July Humanitarian Requirements Documents (HRD) jointly prepared by the government of Ethiopia and humanitarian partners some 4.5 million people are in need of relief food assistance in Ethiopia.