The world looks on as people in Africa continue to starve

10.2 million people are in need of food aid as a result of drought and war.

Millions in Ethiopia and South Sudan are victims of both drought and war, leaving most to starve.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Ethiopia continues to suffer extreme droughts, doubling the number of people in need of help within a span of only three months, while South Sudan suffers the continuation of a two-year war which leads people into a "Phase 5" hunger emergency.

A Phase 5 hunger emergency is a term for what happens just before people suffer a famine. Currently there are over 40,000 people in South Sudan in a Phase 5 hunger emergency.

The LA TIMES reported 10.2 million Ethiopians are in critical need of food. Though international agencies continue to raise funds to help sustain the population, only a small amount has been collected.

Ethiopia Humanitarian Requirements Document 2016, created by Joint Government and Humanitarian Partners, reports an estimated $1.4 billion in humanitarian aid is required to help 10.2 million people in need of humanitarian food assistance. 

The group's strategy to help the starving populations is to first save lives and reduce morbidity related to drought. The Government and the Ethiopia Humanitarian Country Team wrote: "The Government has requested monthly food distribution. Regular screening will ensure that the most vulnerable are reached with treatment and supplementary food. 

"The potential for disease outbreaks is of particular concern - and hence the need to increase immunization coverage. In coping with these factors, school absenteeism and child labour increase, families marry young girls off at earlier ages and send their children to much longer distances to fetch water. Women face risks of different forms of violence, including when eroded livelihoods forces them into survival sex."

The second step would be to "Protect and restore livelihoods." To do so, the group plans to "take advantage of the 2016 rains. Supporting livestock survival, including plough oxen, through the provision of fodder, access to drinking water and vaccination will be key.

"For families most affected by drought, timely access to seeds and fertilizer will be prioritized to enable them to take advantage of the 2016 rains."

The final step is to "Prepare for and respond to other humanitarian shocks," which include national disasters, conflict and displacement.

Challiss McDonough, spokeswoman for the World Food Program, said, "We have been very limited in our ability to get in and measure how bad things are."

Serge Tissot, of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, which assessed the need in December 2015, reported, "There are 12 million people in South Sudan. Our of 12 million people, 5 million people are food secure. It means that there are 7 million who have problems. The situation is worse now in 2016 than it was at the beginning of 2015." 

McDonough admitted the World Food Program has less than five percent of necessary funds to help people in Ethiopia.

"Humanitarian needs globally are so enormous right now that donors are struggling to do anything near what's needed. You've got layered global humanitarian crises. It's hard for the donors to keep up."

The drought has also resulted in mass deaths among cattle and oxen, who are normally saved for sources of food and to plow fields.

Amadou Allahoury, the Ethiopia representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization, reported, "The issue is critical. The livestock sector is already highly affected."

If God has touched your heart, please help the starving, drought-and-war-stricken people of South Sudan and Ethiopia. Please visit Your Catholic Voice Foundation to donate and help feed the hungry.

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