But for that we need urgent donor support.
Measles can be a major cause of death in such situations.
In Yabello Woreda, in southern Ethiopia, a recent nutrition survey indicated that over 24 per cent of children there are acutely malnourished, weighing below 80 per cent of the standard weight for length measurement. An estimated 8 million Ethiopians are now threatened. These months are crucial for agro-pastoralists and for humanitarian interventions. It is still possible that rains may come in the next weeks but if, by that stage, the population has been so debilitated by hunger and disease, they will be unable to prepare and weed land for planting, activities that require peak energy. Some 95 per cent of cattle are believed to have died in this area and those still standing are no longer producing milk, exposing children and families to nutritional depletion.