Jobs mean food for Ethiopia's poor
15 October 2008
A
combination of failed rains and rising prices has this year led to
food shortages across Ethiopia. In the worst-hit parts of the country, children are suffering
from malnutrition.
But in eight regions, a DFID-funded programme has ensured that some of Ethiopia's most vulnerable people have been able to survive. The programme operates by providing food and money to at-risk households in exchange for their work in improving public facilities.
So, communities benefit from better roads and water points, and individuals are able to secure themselves against the threat of famine by buying food-generating assets like cattle, or simply by receiving food itself.
Work that pays
Aster Kurma lives with her husband and their eight children in the district
of Kedida Gamela, about 350 kilometres south of Addis Ababa. The region, which
is vulnerable to
drought, has been badly affected by this year's low rainfall.
Thanks
to the programme, however, Aster's family is not going hungry, even in these
very difficult times.
Five days a week, Aster works for the programme on soil conservation and tree planting projects, helping to turn the parched land around her home into lush green plots.
Payment comes in the form of food or money, but for Aster the best kind of payment is the kind that will feed her family directly. "I prefer to be paid in food," she says. "Food is better than money - we have a shortage of cereal because the rains never came, and so prices have gone up." This means that she gets less and less to eat for her cash.
Aster's work is demanding, but she believes that the benefits make it all worthwhile. "I've been able to move from food aid and from living hand to mouth," she says, adding that her family now has two meals a day.
Towards independence
As well as meeting Aster's immediate needs by providing her with a stable source of food, the programme is equipping her for the longer term. She has been able to buy farming tools and cattle, opening up new opportunities for the whole family. "I’m not only able to feed my children, but I can send them to school as well," she says.
Were it not for the recent drought, the family would have "graduated" from the programme this year. But Aster looks forward to the independence that she believes will soon be hers.
"When the time comes," she says, "I would like to express my gratitude, say my salutations and go my own way supporting myself and family with the assets I have secured."
Facts and stats
- The Productive Safety Net programme was launched in 2005 and is led by the Ethiopian Government with support from DFID, the World Bank, Ireland, Canada, Sweden, the USA and the Netherlands.
- DFID has contributed £97 million to the programme over a period of three years.
- Since 2005, the programme has provided food or cash transfers to 7.2 million beneficiaries, at a value of £65 per household per year.
- The programme has resulted in an impressive range of public works, including the construction of 756 school classrooms, 342 health posts, 6,160 km of rural roads, 407 hand dug wells and 310 springs.
- The programme is part of the Government of Ethiopia’s wider Food Security Programme aimed at ensuring that the 15 million people who face annual food shortages become permanently food secure.
Links
- World Food Day 2008
- Case study: A safety net against famine in Ethiopia - 12 June 2008
