Causes Of Famine In Ethiopia

Do you think you would be able to survive if you eat one meal per day? That is the fate of Ethiopians when famine strikes. Famine not only causes starvation for thousands of Ethiopians, but it also spreads diseases and affects the country’s economy (encyclopedia.com). Researchers have confirmed that the lessening of famine will reduce stunting and undernutrition throughout people. Death, starvation, and diseases are certainly factors that will scale down as well (wfp.org). Famine is currently a serious issue in Ethiopia. However, the country is currently getting support from the international community, including organizations like USAid, which are working to provide food for Ethiopians (wordpress.com).

This year, about 80% of Ethiopia’s

At least half of the population live on less than $1 daily, and “over 80% of the population rely on agriculture for their livelihood.” Currently, about 7 million Ethiopians receive food aid each year (actionaid.org). Climate change, overpopulation, crop or market failure, high costs, economy, and droughts are all factors of famine. However, unstable economy and increase of population are its two main causes (geographyas.info). Ethiopia’s population has risen about 80 million since 1985 and world prices of crops increased, leading to unstable economy in which they can’t “keep up a fair trade of international food aid” (wordpress.com). People from all around the world who live in areas with an unstable economy and/or substandard climate are affected by famine. Ethiopia is one of the countries easily affected by this. Climate change and droughts, as well as government policies, resulted in the 1983-1985 famine in Ethiopia (wikipedia.org). If

If everyone was aware about this issue, there would be more people willing to help and make a difference in those affected by famine. It is true that the Ethiopians themselves have to be aware of what causes famine, and there are some factors of famine that the Ethiopians themselves could possibly reduce, but it is not all that easy for them. This is where the government has to come in and take action. For example, one of the causes of famine is overpopulation. If Ethiopians were aware about that fact, they might start thinking about the number of kids that they will have in the future. If they knew that one fail of cash crop could lead to starvation, they might start producing several different types of crops so that they would not be as affected when world prices of crops fail (geography.info). However, by promoting awareness and pressuring the government or other organizations to help those affected by famine, saving thousands of lives can get much easier. By spreading the word about this issue, average citizens can help reduce famine by putting more pressure on the government or organizations to help Ethiopians. As the government takes more action, the number of people receiving aid will increase and more lives will be at ease. This will bring those affected by famine out of their suffering, and give Ethiopians a chance to actually start developing, with one less problem in their lives.