History of Dictators Repeat: Ethiopia in Dire need of Food Aid Under Gangster Melese Zenawis 18 Years Rule

The failure of recent harvests, and rising food prices, have left eight million people in need of aid.

Almost a quarter of a century after Ethiopia’s last major famine, the country is again in deep trouble.

The failure of the tyrant rulers and rising food prices, have left over eight million people in need of aid.

In the middle of it all is an Australian woman trying to help those in dire need.

A three-hour drive south of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, is the town of Shashamane.

Recent rain has turned the land green, but it’s too little, too late; food is scarce.

Sophia Husein and her family are among over 8 million Ethiopians who are in desperate need of food aid. Her baby is severely malnourished.

“I cannot feed my family”, she says, “even if I try by all the energy I have.”

Australian Valerie Browning has an intimate understanding of the plight of Ethiopians.

“The baby’s born small from the mother’s malnutrition probably, so basically we’ll have to treat the little girl with antibiotics now,” she says.

“Just very recently we hit the worst, we hit literally death by hunger of little children and I hadn’t seen that in 19 years.”

Ms Browning works for a local aid group.

She settled here two decades ago after falling in love with the land and its people; people who are now suffering.

“If we don’t work now, right now, then we’ve lost the day. I really believe that.”

A quarter of a century ago, Ethiopia became a byword for famine.

Images of children dying of starvation prompted Bob Geldof to launch Live Aid.

Since then Ethiopia’s population has doubled and now world food prices are soaring.

Opposition politician ex gang member, Gebru Asrat says Ethiopia has failed to learn from the past.

“To see another famine in this country after 24 years is a sad thing, where millions are starving,” he said.

Ms Browning says most families are down to two meals a day; some are down to one.

“I’ve seen them mixing tiny bits of grain with huge amounts of water, boiling it up and calling it porridge and drinking that as a meal. And they are desperately hungry people,” she said.