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Date: April 6, 2000 
According to the World Food Program, more than 15 million people in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania are facing a humanitarian crisis of serious proportions. The most seriously affected populations are agro-pastoralists in southern and eastern Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya.
ACT members in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC), the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) and the Lutheran World Federation/Department of World Service Ethiopia (LWF/DWS) report that due to the current emergency in Ethiopia, more than 8 million people will require approximately 900,000 MT of relief food aid in order to avoid another famine. The current crisis is being compared to the severe famine which gripped the region in the mid 80's.
This emergency in Ethiopia has its roots in the failure of the belg (short rains) and the meher (long rains) in
1998, which resulted in a significant increase in the number of vulnerable people requiring food
assistance in early 1999.
Prompt intervention by ACT members, the Government and other relief agencies in mid-1999 alleviated the situation somewhat and minimized mass population movements. This precarious situation, however, was further exacerbated in 1999 by another complete failure of the belg rains in many parts of the country. The ongoing conflict with Eritrea and the related insecurity are among the other factors, which have a direct bearing on the crisis.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is responding to the food crisis in Ethiopia through its ecumenical partner Action by Churches Together. One hundred percent of donations to "Ethiopia Famine Relief, Advance #101250" will be used in for this response. The generous giving of United Methodists to the One Great Hour of Sharing supplements the cost of Advance gifts. Give through a local United Methodist church or send financial contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call (1-800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation. Click here to make a secure online gift.
The map(s) is in the public domain, adapted from one(s) obtained the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, courtesy of The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.