Disclaimer: This is an English translation of an Amharic article taken from BBC Amharic and is intended solely for information purposes.
BBC Amharic – More than 100,000 people are facing worsening severe food shortage in Wag Hemra
January 22, 2025
More than 107,000 residents have been impacted due to drought and heavy rains and are facing a severe situation in Wag Hemra Zone of Amhara Region say residents and local officials who spoke to BBC.
The zonal health authority has indicated since late October (mid Tikimit) a significant number of residents have faced “severe food shortages” in four woredas.
Over the past year drought has struck the zone, and last rainy season heavy rains, flooding, snow and landslides caused damage to crops, according to locals who spoke to BBC.
It has been reported that heavy rains have fully and partially destroyed crops in lowland woredas with high production rates.
According to recent research from Woldia University on the area, staple crops like teff, wheat, barley and beans have suffered damage which has left farmers without adequate food.
One resident of Sekota town described the impact on locals as “water fire” (or “aholae” in the local Agewigna dialect).
“The water (rain) would envelope the harvests and reduce them, the planted sorghum and barley did not produce yields. Secondly heavy snow and flooding has caused landslides. Land cultivated by farmers has been ruined, it has been struck by snow.”
Another resident described the damage to crops in the zone “produce loss”, and farmers whose crops were ruined have been displaced.
“The abundance of rain and snow washed over the ground and the water prevented any crops yields” displacing a large number of people to neighboring areas in search of work.
A resident of Dehana Woreda which experienced food shortages following severe food destruction, Woizero Alaye Simegn said the area was “struck by a storm” describing the problem she faced.
She was displaced with seven of her family members for food to the neighboring Bugna Woreda which faced similar food shortage however going there was not as expected, and she returned to her home last Tahasass (between December 10th to January 8th) she told BBC.
Woizero Alaye said five of her children were sick and while her 1 year and seven-month-old child was in a health center they said she was “frail” describing her current state.
“There is nothing available for her to suckle on, not even a breast. My breast has dried. She was further weakened when she contracted scabies…[the doctors] said it was the food shortage which made her vulnerable to the disease.”
A resident of Kebele 18 of Dehana Woreda, Ato Aweke Kassa, says he used to grow beans and barley, “the planted crops of value have all become unusable. It has become an empty rainy season (Kiremt)” he told BBC saying his crops had been destroyed.
Ato Aweke who is a father of three children had taken his family members to Alamata in search of work but was not successful and his four-year-old child contracted malaria while his one year and five-month-old child fell ill from food shortage.
Ato Aweke said that on January 20, 2025 (Tir 12, 2017 EC) he took his one year and five-month-old child to the Azila Health Center in Dehana Woreda for care, “we have nothing. We are poor” he said, explaining that he was unable to feed his family.
The woreda health office’s head Ato Melak Fisseha told BBC according to available information there are 11,200 mothers and children facing “serious to extremely alarming food shortages” in Dehana Woreda.
The zonal health authority head Ato Assefa Negash said Wag Hemra Zone has long been supported under the safety net program given longstanding food shortages, and that food was not produced due to the flooding and landslides during the last months of the rainy season (Kiremt).
“The government provided some assistance, charity organizations provided some assistance, and the community would get some produce on its own for periods of four months or six months. But this did not happen this year” he said mentioning that the people facing compounded problems and “troublesome” circumstances.
One resident said the toll in the zone especially to mothers and children, “children have suffered lesions to their skin, mothers have been unable to breastfeed.”
Another resident from Sekota town said the impact on children has been “disturbing to see” which they witnessed.
Since late October 2024 (mid Tikimit 2017 EC) health workers said they began to encounter “very severe cases in which children were thin and hurt” says Ato Assefa.
The official said in addition to the zone’s main town of Sekota, the areas of Gazbibla, Dehana, Abergele and Tsagibji Woredas have all been severely affected.
According to research from Woldia University over 106,600 residents (35% of the zone’s population) across four woredas have suffered because of drought and food shortages.
Based on the Global Hunger Index over 41% of children in Wag Hemra face “serious to extremely alarming food shortages” according to the zonal health authority head who spoke to BBC.
“If we were to select over 100 children, about three out of one hundred would face extremely alarming food shortage and would need to be admitted to a hospital for immediate care. Up to 27% need nutritional food and lifesaving medicine.”
In the zone 68% of mothers have suffered from “serious to extremely alarming food shortages” said the official.
According to information collected by Woldia University over 26,600 children and pregnant mothers including breastfeeding mothers are facing “serious to extremely alarming food shortages” across four woredas.
The university’s research indicated that over 18 children lost their lives because of food shortages in the zone, and the health office head acknowledged that people had died, but said efforts were underway to verify the circumstances for their deaths.
The head emphasized the need for affected mothers and children to enter a “program” to receive medical care but outlined problems resulting from shortages in nutritional (supplementary) foods and access.
The head said, “up until now there has been no comprehensive response”, in areas affected by the security problem “government vehicles are not operating to deliver logistics and providing responses” so the problem is “worsening” he said.
Diseases such as malaria have risen in Wag Hemra Zone, and water-borne diseases such as diarrhea and trachoma have also occurred according to locals and workers.
Ato Assefa said he had communicated to relevant actors including charity organizations of the food shortages over one month ago and said, “up until now there hasn’t been a major response.”
The Dehana Woreda health office head Ato Melak said if medicine and nutritional food and other provisions in shortage are not received, he feared “an even more severe problem” would occur.
“We can manage with current preventative and control measures. However, going forward if the problem worsens, we could experience further loss of life. “Severe hunger could take place; it could hurt a generation” he said sharing his fear.
The Wag Hemra Zone health authority head reiterated the need for swift lifesaving food and medicine, adding his fear that if this was not provided the tragedies of history would repeat themselves.
“If there isn’t a swift response it will be difficult to treat and save the children” said Ato Assefa expressing his concern, warning “a crisis like that of 77” could occur.
Days of efforts by BBC to reach the zonal emergency prevention and food security authority were not successful to inquire about efforts to provide relief to affected residents in Wag Hemra Zone.
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