A cease-fire was signed in June, and UN peacekeepers arrived last month. Still, it's uncertain whether the peace will stick and donors will boost assistance to Ethiopia. Asked why donors respond to emergency relief appeals while reducing development aid, Catherine Bertini, head of the UN World Food Program, says it's easier to justify the former. Alemach Teklehaimanot, an Ethiopian public-health specialist, agrees. If the international community responded to the need for development the way they respond to the requests for relief, there would be some changes.
Development takes time.
To prevent a recurrence of widespread hunger, Dr. Teklehaimanot says pastoralist people must adapt by taking up agriculture, educating their children, and empowering women. The drought ripped apart her life, killing four of her children. Everything she owns could fit in a wheelbarrow. But she is still optimistic. We offer them for your additional research.