The U.S. government should also be applauded for moving quickly and for providing a significant portion of the international assistance for this emergency. We are off to a good start, yet there is still much to do. I would also like to recognize the U.S. Government's understanding of the regional nature of this emergency and the need to continue to support emergency, development, and political initiatives throughout the region. It is clear that this famine, like all famines, finds its roots in complex regional political and economic issues that require a multifaceted and long-term approach. Save the Children began its work in Ethiopia in response to the 1984 famine.
Programs focus on geographic areas and target populations that have been historically under-served.
This includes the pastoral peoples in the east and south of Ethiopia, as well as the urban poor living in slum areas. It is Save the Children's long-standing presence in the country and our long term understanding of the issues and problems facing families and children that allowed us to respond so quickly when the situation started to deteriorate in October of 1999. When droughts and famines begin, it is the children who are the most severely affected and whose health begins to deteriorate first. That is why, in November of 1999, Save the Children agreed with the Ethiopian government authorities to initiate drought relief activities in Gode Zone of Ethiopia, near the borders of both Kenya and Somalia, which are also experiencing economic, political, and humanitarian crises. At this time, the situation in Gode Zone of Ethiopia is one of the most severe of anywhere in Ethiopia.