Children are the first ones to experience the devastating effects of food shortages.
Yamamori's weeklong trip included visiting villages in the Somali Region, one of the worst affected areas of the drought that has lasted more than three years. Many communities in this region have seven to nine children die each day from lack of food, water, and adequate health care. The Ethiopian government estimates that the total amount of food assistance required to stave off a major crisis is more than 1.3 million metric tons. The plan targets 300,000 Ethiopians, mostly farmers. Our secondary objective is to continue sending cash grants and commodities to dependable agencies already working in the hard-hit drought areas of the south.