About Ethiopia
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Whenever you think of children living in poverty in Africa, many people tend to think about Ethiopia, a vast country with a population of nearly eighty million people whose history stretches back into the mists of time. Unlike many other African nations, Ethiopia has always been independent (apart from a brief period of occupation by Italy.)
Despite not being a former colony, Ethiopia has still suffered from poor governance and dictatorships in recent decades. It was ruled for over forty years by the Emperor Hailie Selassis, then a military junta until 1991. Wars with neighbours continued over boundary disputes and these are currently on hold.
Ethiopia's famine of 1984-1985, resulting from poor rainfall and leading to an almost total failure of crop production was followed in 1986 by a locust plague. The famine affected around eight million people, with one million of them dying of starvation.
Today, in the second decade of the twenty first century, one in ten Ethiopian children in Ethiopia are dead before their first birthday and one is six is dead before the age of five. Those children in Ethiopia who do survive infancy, continue to face a lifetime of difficulties.
There are poor clean water facilities, malnutrition is rife and access to basic education is lacking for a great many of the population, together with illnesses such as HIV and vulnerable children living on the streets whose parents have died young are at risk of exploitation including sexual assault.
The aid programmes working with children in Ethiopia are tackling these long term problems and need your support to continue their work in order to make a lasting difference. You can help by supporting one of the charities who are working with children in Ethiopia by clicking here.
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