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New warning on famine in Ethiopia

One of the world's leading experts on the issue of famine is raising the alarm of a food crisis in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has a tragic history of famine - and now one of the world's leading experts on the issue is raising the alarm again.

Alex de Waal - the director of the World Peace Foundation, who has been studying famines in the region since the 1980s - says the world needs to pay more attention to Ethiopia.

One of the most affected areas is Tigray, in the north of the country, which is still recovering from a devastating two-year long conflict with the federal government.

Local officials there have said more than a thousand people have already died due to hunger in recent months.
But Alex de Waal told Newsday it is not the only part of Ethiopia which is feeling the pinch and there is a real threat to life.

β€œThere hasn’t been a major relief response, clearly international agencies are clearly over-stretched by multiple crises around the world. But it would be tragic if, yet again, a response only comes when it’s too late to stop many tens of thousands of people from starving.”

(Pic: A woman carries an infant as she queues in line for food during the war in Tigray (FILE); Credit: Reuters)

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