The drought in Ethiopia puts nearly eight million people living in this African country in immediate risk of this drought. One million four thousand of those people are children under the age of five. Because of these harsh conditions Ethiopia is the third poorest country in the world. (UNICEF)

Drought is a major issue concerning the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development because it affects “about one sixth of the world's population, 70 per cent of all dry lands, amounting to 3.6 billion hectares, and one quarter of the total land area of the world.” (U.N. Agenda 21, Chapter 12). It is viewed as a Sustain

E. “Developing ‘comprehensive drought preparedness and drought-relief schemes’.”

D. “Developing anti-desertification plans and implementing into “national development plans.”

Granted the African government has been doing very much for improvement of the current conditions, funding is difficult with such a small budget. That leads us to international funding. So, what have international governments been doing to help combat the desertification of Ethiopia? According to the Department of State of the United States, a total of $112,766,514 in aide and assistance was sent to Ethiopia in 2002, after the “U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia declared a disaster in response to the developing drought situation.”(US Agency for International Development, US Department of State) In 2003, the amount of funding and aide sent to Ethiopia declined by nearly $37 million, where a total of $75,900,000 was sent. The main focal point of the governmental assistance from the US followed two of the six ‘programme areas’ set forth in Agenda 21. The aide sent was aimed towards food and water assistance nearing 175,000 tons, which in turn was for the improvement of poverty, similar to program area C of chapter 12. Also emergency relief aide packages were sent in accordance with area E of the same chapter.

” In a number of developing countries affected by desertification [and drought], the natural resource base is the main resource upon which the development process must rely. The social systems interacting with land resources make the problem much more complex, requiring an integrated approach to the planning and management of land resources. Action plans to combat desertification and drought should include management aspects of the environment and development, thus conforming with the approach of integrating national development plans and national environmental action plans.” (Agenda 21, 12.35)

Some topics in this essay:
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