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The Band Aid recording session Article shared by Alan Court ...... Ethiopian Famine 40 Years On A friend sent me this article from The Times of London’s 24 November edition.  This article and its photos will bring back memories for many who were in Ethiopia at the time, particularly those who visited Korem. I recall visiting Bob Geldof at the time, in his studio in the centre of London. I went with a couple of folks from the UK Committee. Geldof was super crude in his dismissal of what UNICEF and the UN system had been doing “so why didn’t you f….d up f…..g people prevent this f…..g famine in the first place?” There was no point in saying what we had been doing (a lot) under Padmini’s brilliant leadership to mitigate the problems and change the way FAO and WFP were acting at the time. On the latter, Jim Grant acted on Padmini’s recommendations and worked with the SG to change UN country leadership. Our visit to Geldof’s studio was also successful to the extent that Band-Aid did pro...

Background I was privileged to serve the world’s children and women as a Unicef staff member. I was posted in three continents and worked in all regions of the world where Unicef served to improve children’s life opportunities and the empowerment of girls and women. My unicef career helped me realize my commitment to make a difference in the lives of other people and communities I had the opportunity to serve.

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The independent rights investigators’ final report comes as their mandate ended on Friday, coinciding with the end of the UN  Human Rights Council ’s 54th session, leaving victims in limbo. Established by the Council in December 2021, their brief from the Council was to conduct through and impartial investigations into alleged human rights violations in Ethiopia, perpetrated by all parties to the conflict since 3 November 2020. Steven Rather, an expert on the  Commission , described the termination of the mandate as a “great blow” to victims seeking justice. “It is essential that this work [the investigation] continues, and this legacy report offers a detailed resource to support the fight against impunity in Ethiopia,” he  said . Report of the Independent Rights Investigators The level of mass killings and human rights abuses in Ethiopia over the last several years of conflict is staggering, and the international community must step up efforts to protect civilians a...

The food aid scam in Ethiopia is as embarrassing as it is tragic. A country where 20 million people rely on overseas help to feed their families must ensure aid reaches those in need and isn’t pilfered behind the scenes for profit or political gain. Unfortunately, that’s what seemingly happened. Investigations are ongoing, but we can exclusively reveal that Tigray’s regional police have sought to interrogate at least three local staff members of the World Food Programme, triggering a diplomatic standoff with the Rome-based food agency. The United Nations food outfit — whose workers enjoy immunity for official activities — hasn’t complied with the request yet and has asked for clarification from the Ethiopian government. But the move comes after food aid was cut off in Ethiopia earlier this year. The stoppage began after WFP and USAID uncovered widespread theft of its food assistance across Tigray — a region battered by two years of civil war and debilitating hunger. It soon became e...

Mass Killings of Migrants at Yemen Border Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers who tried to cross the Yemen -Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. If committed as part of a Saudi government policy to murder migrants, these killings, which appear to continue, would be a crime against humanity. Click here for the HRW statement and here for the r elated Guardian article The 73-page report, “ ‘They Fired on Us Like Rain’: Saudi Arabian Mass Killings of Ethiopian Migrants at the Yemen-Saudi Border ,” found that Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons to kill many migrants and shot other migrants at close range, including many women and children, in a widespread and systematic pattern of attacks. In some instances, Saudi border guards asked migrants what limb to shoot, and then shot them at close range. Saudi border guards also fired explosive weapons at migrants who ...

The food aid scandal in Ethiopia is a colossal embarrassment, but Cindy McCain, who took over WFP in April, says it will not happen again — not on her watch, at least. WFP was forced to halt assistance to Ethiopia in June after discovering “widespread” food diversion, as government officials reportedly lined their pockets selling goods on the black market.  All this came at a time when a lack of funding and supplies were forcing WFP to cut sharply the numbers of people for whom it can provide food aid in other major programme countries, including Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and for the Rohingya in Bangladesh. In a country reeling from civil war and struggling through a historic drought, 20 million people rely on humanitarian assistance. "Click here for the full article" Main Points *The World Food Programme (WFP) suspended its food aid to Ethiopia in June 2023 after discovering "widespread" food diversion. *The diversion took place in December and January 2023, bu...

Claude Jbidar, WFP Ethiopia WFP has joined USAID in suspending food aid to Ethiopia, following an investigation into diversion of food supplies. The senior leadership of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Ethiopia has resigned, shortly before the findings of a probe into the misappropriation of food aid in the country are due to be made public. The resignations come after an internal investigation launched last month over reports that significant amounts of food meant for hungry people in Ethiopia’s war-affected northern Tigray region had been sold on the commercial market.  The probe also indicated significant diversions elsewhere in the country. WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain, who took the helm of the UN agency in April, said last month that those “found responsible must be held accountable” for food theft. Both the Ethiopian federal government and the interim regional government in Tigray have vowed to cooperate with WFP’s probe. “We briefed [a US government] delegation on t...

People inspect a damaged playground following the air strike in Mekelle [Tigrai TV/ via Reuters] “UNICEF strongly condemns the air strike in Mekelle, the capital city of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. The strike hit a kindergarten, killing several children, and injuring others. UNICEF calls on all parties to agree to an immediate cessation of hostilities. “Yet again, an escalation of violence in northern Ethiopia has caused children to pay the heaviest price. For almost two years, children and their families in the region have endured the agony of this conflict. It must end.” See also: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/27/un-condemns-tigray-airstrike-that-killed-children  

More than 10M people have been affected by the drought in #Ethiopia . Many children have been displaced from their homes & are severely malnourished. @UNICEFEMOPS Director @Manuel_Fontaine explains what needs to be done to save lives urgently & provide long-term solutions. @UNICEF pic.twitter.com/uYh5LZDx1z — UNICEF Ethiopia (@UNICEFEthiopia) July 21, 2022 Four consecutive failed rainy seasons have brought on severe drought in Ethiopia’s lowland regions of Afar, Oromia, the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ (SNNPR) and Somali regions. Water wells have dried up and millions of livestock have died, resulting in mass displacement. “The impact of the drought on children is devastating,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director for Emergency Operations. “In Somali region alone, over 900,000 people have been displaced. Drought not only means lack of water. It means that children are going hungry and thirsty every day. They are forced to walk miles in search of food and ...