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Transcript/ScriptETHIOPIA DROUGHT CHILD MALNUTRITION
HEADLINE: Record Drought Driving Child Malnutrition in Ethiopia
TEASER: Ethiopian health authorities warn cases to spike as year-long drought worsens
PUBLISHED AT: Wednesday, 03/30/2022 at 10:50am
BYLINE: Gelmo Dawit
DATELINE: YABELLO, BORENA ZONE, ETHIOPIA
VIDEOGRAPHER: Gelmo Dawit
PRODUCER: Robert Raffaele, Jason Godman
SCRIPT EDITORS: Schearf, Salem Solomon
VIDEO SOURCE(S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:14
VID APPROVED BY: Salem Solomon
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: Oromo is the ethnic group and Afan Oromo is the language. There is an accompanying radio piece.))
((INTRO))
[[Ethiopian health officials say child malnutrition is on the rise in drought-affected southern areas, where the U.N. says millions are facing hunger. Aid agencies are calling for urgent assistance to Ethiopia’s Oromia region. For VOA, Gelmo Dawit reports from Yabello, Borena Zone in the Oromia region]]
((NARRATOR))
Mother of two Shukur Mohammed has brought her malnourished, two-year-old son to the local hospital in Oromia’s Borena Zone.
((Shukur Mohammed, Mother, Borena Zone)) (In Afan Oromo, 16 secs, female voice))
“He is malnourished due to drought; we do not have milk to give him. He is now surviving because of the supplementary feeding he gets from the clinic.”
((NARRATOR))
Shukur says her entire family is surviving on food aid after they lost all their cows to the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in decades.
The U.N.’s World Food Program says half a million livestock have starved to death in southern Ethiopia while nearly six million people are facing hunger.
Borena health officials say they have registered more than 125,000 cases of child malnutrition in just the past few months.
((Wari Arbale, Nurse, Borena Hospital)) ((In Afan Oromo, 16 secs, female voice))
“We set aside this room for malnourished children. We are keeping some in the outpatient department because we are now at capacity.”
((NARRATOR))
Medicine in some areas is running low and despite health officials appealing to humanitarian agencies in the area, their efforts were of no avail.
((Jalla Gufuu, Dubluk Health Post Deputy)) ((In Afan Oromo, 17 secs, male voice))
“There is a huge gap regarding medicine. We have been appealing for help but get no response.”
((NARRATOR))
Aid agency Action Against Hunger is helping the region’s health facilities to treat malnourished children but says the ongoing drought is a challenge.
((Muluneh Girma, Action Against Hunger)) ((In Amharic, 23 secs, male voice))
“The problem is now getting tougher. All concerning bodies should provide more help for the communities living in this area.’”
((NARRATOR))
But with attention focused elsewhere, southern Ethiopia’s most vulnerable are left struggling to survive with little assistance.
Over 700,000 people have been internally displaced in the Oromia region due to insecurity in areas where there is rebel fighting and inter-communal violence. Regional authorities say they are trying to meet the needs of nearly half a million civilians who were forced to leave their homes.
((Gelmo Dawit, for VOA News, Borena Zone, Ethiopia.)
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)YABELLO, BORENA ZONE, ETHIOPIA
Embargo DateMarch 30, 2022 21:40 EDT
Byline((Gelmo Dawit, for VOA News, Borena Zone, Ethiopia.))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
