Ethiopia: Deadly Malnutrition Crisis in Somali Region

An acute humanitarian emergency is unfolding in Ethiopia's Somali region, with malnutrition reaching alarming levels, the international medical organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today.

MSF teams in the region’s Doolo Zone report 67 deaths of malnourished children so far in June.

"The numbers of young children with severe acute malnutrition in Doolo Zone are the highest our teams have seen in the area in the 10 years we have worked in the region," said Saskia van der Kam, MSF nutritional adviser.

MSF teams, working alongside Ethiopian health authorities, have set up 27 outpatient therapeutic feeding centers and four inpatient therapeutic feeding centers to treat children with severe malnutrition. In the locations of Danod, Lehel-Yucub, Wardher, Galadi, and Daratole, MSF teams have treated 6,136 children under five for severe acute malnutrition since January. By comparison, MSF treated 491 children in these areas for severe acute malnutrition during the same period in 2016—a more than tenfold increase.

In the first two weeks of June alone, 322 severely malnourished children were admitted in the four inpatient feeding centers supported by MSF. Despite all medical efforts, 51 of these children did not survive. The total number of deaths among children in June has risen to 67.

"The deaths of these children show the gravity of the situation," said van der Kam. "What we are seeing is a humanitarian emergency."

Thousands of People are Fully Dependent on External Aid

The malnutrition crisis comes in the wake of two failed rainy seasons. Many people have seen their livestock die because of the drought, which has forced them to abandon their traditional nomadic way of life. They have settled in informal camps, where they do not have enough food and safe water to survive.

"When the drought came, our animals died so we could no longer stay in the bush," said Fardausa, a local woman who brought her three-year-old granddaughter, Maida, for treatment to one of the MSF-supported therapeutic feeding centers. "I have never seen a situation like this. We had animals that gave us everything we needed. Now we have nothing and our children become sick and die."

Droughts are nothing new for people in this area. The mainly pastoralist population knows how to adapt to avoid losing as few camels and cows as possible until the next rains come. But after two failed rainy seasons in a row, many can no longer cope and are now totally dependent on external aid.

"Our teams are seeing entire communities left without milk, as most of their animals have died," said Karline Kleijer, MSF emergency program manager. "Without their animals, they no longer have a source of income or the means of transporting food and water when on the move. People are knocking on our doors begging for food."

Malnutrition Soars as Food Aid Runs Short

People in the camps have been receiving food aid and the regional government has been providing cooked meals in most of the informal camps. However, supplies of food are insufficient for the high number of displaced people in need and are now running out.

"In the last week of May, the distribution of cooked food was halted, and the monthly distribution of dry food rations was delayed, leaving large numbers of people without any food at all," Kleijer said.

More concerning, the World Food Program has warned that its supply of emergency food aid for the Somali region will run out at the end of July, leaving 1.7 million people even more vulnerable to malnutrition.

MSF Urges Donors and Other Organizations to Scale up Their Support to the Somali Region

Fearing a stark deterioration of the nutrition and humanitarian situation in the Somali region, MSF is planning to expand its emergency response to other zones, including Jarar and Nogob.

"Our teams are working with the health authorities to reach as many children as possible to provide them with therapeutic food to reduce the immediate mortality, rather than provide comprehensive care to a smaller number of children," said Kleijer. "But we shouldn't have to make such a choice. More food aid and more humanitarian organizations need to arrive in this region urgently."

MSF calls on donors to increase their support to Ethiopia to ensure that a continuous supply of food reaches people in need. Humanitarian organizations must also dispatch teams and supplies to the hardest-hit areas to prevent the crisis from escalating further. Read more here

Ethiopia: East Africa's new economic power

Ethiopia's economy is growing so rapidly it may soon replace Kenya as the largest economic power in the region. But a large number of people in the country still live in poverty and many challenges remain.

The recent inauguration of the giant Hawassa industrial park was a special moment for Ethiopia's government. Built with Chinese help, the park has modern halls where leather and textile products will be produced for the European and American market. Located 275 km south of the capital Addis Ababa, the park is expected to turnover 1 billion dollars annually and provide employment for more than 60,000 people.

Ambitious plans

The plant in Hawassa is one of 16 industrial parks planned by Ethiopia's government. In a push to revive the country's economy, they are investing heavily in large infrastructure projects. In 2015, they rolled out a modern light railway in Addis Ababa – the first fully electric tram in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2020, a 5,000-kilometer rail network should connect the country with its neighbors and the port of Djibouti. To provide a regular source of electricity in a country where less than a quarter of people have access to power, the government is also constructing a vast dam on the upper reaches of the Blue Nile. 

With a gross domestic product (GDP) of 800 US dollars (715 euro) per capita, Ethiopia is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost 6 million people depend on food aid. 

But Ethiopia's economy is booming. The country has experienced an average economic growth of 10.8 percent per year in the past decade and it's expected to overtake Kenya soon to become East Africa's largest economy. In 2014, consulting firm Deloitte & Touch spoke of an "economic miracle".

The question is how sustainable this boom is in a country that has been under a state of emergency since October 2016 following protests against government policies and human rights abuses. The government has cracked down on dissent and arrested several opposition leaders. 

In the 2015 parliamentary elections, the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won 500 of 547 seats, and its allies the rest. Parliament now lacks any independent or opposition voices. Internet access is also restricted. 

"The state of emergency has put a brake on the economy and the tourism industry hasn't recovered yet," says Ethiopian entrepreneur Estifanos Samuel. But, he says, government has reassured investors and he believes that in the long-term, the economy will continue to grow. 

"Ethiopia will overtake Kenya because the government is making large-scale investments and goods are being produced locally," he says. 

'Carefully optimistic'

Samuel points out that Kenya and Ethiopia have the same level of exports, both earning 4.5 billion, but adds that "Kenya has only half of the population and imports finished textiles while Ethiopia imports 30 percent or parts of its production." 

Kenya has opened its markets further but Ethiopia is catching up. In addition, Kenya suffers from corruption and the terror of the Al-Shabab extremist group. 

The German Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Kenya is less euphoric about Ethiopia's recovery. "We are cautiously optimistic," says director Maren Diale-Schellschmidt. Because Ethiopia started at such a low level, it's easier to grow quickly, she said. “I don't believe Ethiopia has already overtaken Kenya in terms of GDP," she says.  

In addition, prosperity doesn't necessarily go hand-in-hand with economic growth, Diale-Schellschmidt warns. 

"Everyone benefits from the infrastructure, but economic power is the hands of a certain minority," says Diale-Schellschmidt. "There is nevertheless a middle class and more jobs for qualified employees."

Ethiopia still has many problems. Diale-Schellschmidt lists several of them, from excessive bureaucracy and high taxes and levies to a shortage of foreign currency (which restricts the purchase of important technologies). 

"Ethiopia isn't really a free state," she criticizes. “It has a long way to go before it's economically sustainable.”

Gwendolin Hilse contributed to this article Read more here

የፕሮፌሰር አስራት ወልደዬስ አጭር የህይዎት ታሪክ

አስራት ወልደዬስ ከአባታቸው ከአቶ ወልደዬስ አልታዬና ከእናታቸው ከወይዘሮ በሰልፍይዋሉ ጽጌ ሰኔ 12 ቀን 1920 ዓ.ም በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ ተወለዱ፡፡ የአስራት አባት አቶ ወልደዬስ አልታዬ በጸሓፊ ትዕዛዝ ኃይሌ ወልደ-ስላሴ አስተዳደር ውስጥ በጸሃፊነትና በአስተዳደር ተግባር የተሰማሩ ነበሩ፡፡ እናታቸውም በአነስተኛ ንግድ የተሰማሩ ነበሩ፡፡ ፕሮፌሰር አሥራት የሶስት ዓመት ህጻን እያሉ ወላጆቻቸው በፍች ምክንያት ስለተለያዩ ከእናታቸው ጋር ወደ ድሬዳዋ አቀኑ፡፡ አስራት ድሬዳዋ በነበሩበት ወቅት ጣሊያን ኢትዮጵያን ትወራለች፡፡ በዚህ ወቅት በእነ ሞገስ አስግዶምና አብርሃም ደቦጭ ግራዚያኒ ላይ የተደረገ የግድያ ሙከራን ለመበቀል ከግራዚያኒ በተላለፈ በቀል በሶስት ቀናት ውስጥ ብቻ ከ33 ሺህ በላይ የአዲስ አበባ ነዋሪዎች በዶማ፤ በአካፋና በገጀራ ተጨፍጭፈው ተገደሉ፡፡ የአስራት አባት አቶ ወልደዬስ አልታዬም እንደ ሌሎች ኢትዮጵያዊያን ሁሉ ተጨፍጭፈው በአርበኝነት ሞቱ፡፡ እናቱ ወይዘሮ በሰልፍይዋሉ ጽጌም የባለቤታቸው ሞት ተጨምሮበት ብዙም ሳይቆዩ ታመው በሞት ተለዩ፡፡

ወላጆቹን በሞት የተነጠቀው ታዳጊ ከአያቱ ከወይዘሮ ባንቺወሰን ይፍሩ-ለሱሲሉ ጋር መኖር ጀመረ፡፡ አጎቱ አቶ ዘውዴ ወረደወርቅ እዚያው ድሬዳዋ ይኖሩ ነበርና ታዳጊውን የቄስ ትምህርት እንዲማር አስገቡት፡፡ የቄስ ትምህርት ቤት በነበረበት ወቅት በቀለም አቀባበሉ ጎበዝ ነበር ይላሉ አስተማሪው አለቃ ለማ፡፡ ምስክርነታቸውን ሲሰጡ ‹‹አስራት በልጅነት በጣም ጎበዝ በመሆኑ ዓመት ሳይሞላው ወንጌሉን ከቁጥሩ አንበልብሎ፤ ከፍካሬ እስከ ነቢያት ደግሞ ድቁና ተቀበለ›› ይላሉ፡፡ ከቄስ ትምህርቱ ጎን ለጎን ድሬዳዋ ይገኝ ከነበረው ፈረንሳይ ሚሲዮን ገብቶ ቀለም መቁጠር ጀመሮም ነበር፡፡ የእናቱ አባት ቀኛዝማች ጽጌ ወረደወርቅ ታዋቂ አርበኛ ነበሩ፡፡ በመሆኑም ጣሊያን አርበኞችን ወደ ጣሊያን ሐገር ወስዶ በሚያስርበት ወቅት ቀኛዝማች ጽጌም አንዱ ታሳሪ ነበሩ፡፡ ቀኛዝማች ጽጌ ከሶስት ዓመት ተኩል እስር በኋላ ሐገራችን ነጻ ወጥታ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ሲመለሱ አስራትን አዲስ አበባ አስመጥተው በ1934 ዓ.ም ተፈሪ መኮንን ትምህርት ቤት አስገቡት፡፡ ትምህርት ቤት በገባ በአመቱ በ1935 ዓ.ም በተፈሪ መኮንን ትምህርት ቤት ከአጠቃላይ ተማሪዎች አንደኛ በመውጣት የካሜራ ተሸላሚ ለመሆን በቅቷል፡፡ በወቅቱ የአንደኛ ደረጃ ትምህርታቸውን ካጠናቀቁ ወጣቶች መካከል ላቅ ያለ ውጤት ያስመዘገቡትን ወደ ውጭ ሐገር ልኮ ማስተማር ተጀምሮ ነበርና አስራትም በዚሁ የትምህርት ዕድል ምክንያት ግብጽ ወደሚገኘው የእንግሊዞች ቪክቶሪያ ኮሌጅ ተላከ፡፡ በቪክቶሪያ ኮሌጅ ለአምስት ዓመታት ትምህርቱን ከተከታተለ በኋላ በስኮላሽፕ ለከፍተኛ ትምህርት ወደ እንግሊዝ ሐገር እስኮትላንድ ኤደንብራ ዩንቨርስቲ አቀና፡፡ በወቅቱ ህግ እንዲያጠና ከትምህርት ሚንስቴር ቢነገረውም አሻፈረኝ ብሎ ህክምና ኮሌጁን ተቀላቀለ፡፡

ትምህርቱን እንደጨረሰም ፈጥኖ ወደ ሐገሩ ተመለሰ፡፡ በወቅቱ የጤና ጥበቃ ሚንስተር የነበሩት አውቁ አርበኛ ደጃዝማች ጸሐይ እንቁስላሴ አስጠርተው የጤና ሚንስትርነቱን ቦታ እንዲይዝ ይጠይቁታል፡፡ ዶክተር አስራት ግን አይሆንም ሲል ተቃወመ፡፡ በዚሁም የተነሳ የልዕልት ጸሃይ ሆስፒታልን ተቀላቀለ፡፡ ለአምስት ዓመታት በልዕልት ጸሐይ ሆስፒታል ካገለገለ በኋላ ለተጨማሪ ትምህርት ወደ እንግሊዝ ሐገር አቀና፡፡ አደንብራ ዩንቨርሲቲ ገብቶ ቀዶ ህክምናን አጠና፡፡ በቀዶ ህክምና ዘርፍ አስራት የመጀመሪያው ኢትየጵያዊ ሐኪም ነው፡፡ ከዚህ በኋላ አስራት በእድሜም በማዕረግም እያደገ ስለሆነ አንቱ አያልን አንናገራለን፡፡ እነ ዶክተር አስራት እስኪተኩት ድረስ የሀገራችን የህክምና ዘርፍ በነጮች የተያዘ ነበር፡፡ ዶክተር አስራት ከጓደኞቻቸው ጋር በመሆን የህክምና ማሰልጠኛ እንዲከፈት በመወትወታቸው ምክንያት የጥቁር አንበሳን ሆሰፒታል እውን አደረጉ፡፡ የጥቁር አንበሳ ሆስፒታል ሲቋቋም የቴክኒክ ኮሚቴውን የመሩት ዶክተር አስራት ነበሩ፡፡ እ.ኤ.አ በ1965 ዓ.ም የጥቁር አንበሳ ሆስፒታል እውን ሲሆን ፕሮፌሰር አስራት ተባባሪ ፕሮፌሰር በመሆን የመጀመሪያ ኢትዮጵያዊ ዲን ሆኑ፡፡

በደርግ ወቅትም በካድሬዎች ይደረግባቸው የነበረውን ከፍተኛ ጫና ተቋቁመው ሐገራቸውን ሳይለቁ ህዝባቸውን ሲያገለግሉ ቆይተዋል፡፡ በወቅቱ በተደጋጋሚ ዘመቻ የተላኩ ሲሆን የሄዱበትን ዘመቻ በክብር ለመወጣት በቅተዋል፡፡ በዚህም መሰረት በ1968 ዓ.ም በቀዳጅ ሐኪምነት በቃኘው ሆስፒታል አስመራ፤ በ1969 ዓ.ም እንደገና በቃኘው ሆስፒታል አስመራ፤ በ1970 ዓ.ም በራዛ ዘመቻ በቀዳጅ ሐኪምነት እና ቡድን መሪነት በመቀሌ ሆስፒታል፤ እንዲሁም በሰኔ 1971 ዓ.ም በቀዳጅ ሐኪምነት ምጽዋ ዘምተው ግዳጃቸውን ተወጥተዋል፡፡ ከዚህ ባለፈም በህክምናው ዘርፍ ‹‹አስራት የተባለ ጸበል ፈልቋል›› እስከመባል የደረሰ አንቱታን ያተረፉ ብቁ ሐኪም ነበሩ፡፡ ኢህአዴግ ከሌሎች 42 ምሁራን ጋር ከአዲስ አበባ ዩንቨርስቲ በ1985 ዓ.ም እስከሚያባርራቸው ድረስ በትጋት ያገለገሉ የሐገር ባለውለታ ነበሩ፡፡ በሙያቸው የተለያዩ ሽልማቶችን ያገኙ ሲሆን ጥቂቶቹን ለመዘርዘር ያክል የኢትዮጵያ የክብር ኮከብ የፈረሰኛ ደረጃ፤ የዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ኒሻን የፈረሰኛ ደረጃ፤ የአብዮታዊ ዘመቻ አርማ ፤ አለም አቀፍ የወርቅ ሜርኩሪ (በግል አስተዋጽኦ)፤ የቀይ ባህር ኒሻን አንደኛ ደረጃ ይገኙበታል፡፡

የደርግ ስርዓት ተሸንፎ ኢህአዴግና ሻዕቢያ ስልጣኑን በተቆጣጠሩበት ወቅት ሰኔ 24 ቀን 1983 ዓ.ም በተደረገው የሽግግር መንግስት ቻርተር ውይይት ላይ የከፍተኛ ትምህርት ተቋማትን ወክለው የተገኙት ፕሮፌሰር አስራት ‹‹ሐገር ላስገነጥል ተወክዬ አልመጣሁም›› በማለት ተቃውሞ ያሰሙ ብቸኛው ሰው ነበሩ፡፡ ‹‹ይህ ጉባኤ በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ስም ምንም ጉዳይ ሊወስን፤ ሊያግድ ወይም ሊሰርዝ አይችልም›› በማለት ጉባኤው እያደረገው ያለው ውሳኔ ኢ-ዲሞክራሲያዊ መሆኑን አስረግጠው ሞገቱ፡፡ በዚህ ንግግራቸውም የተነሳ ከጉባኤው ሲወጡ ብዙ ማስፈራሪያና ዛቻ ያካሂዱባቸው ነበር፡፡

በወቅቱ በኮንፈረንሱም ሆነ በሽግግር መንግስቱ ምንም ውክልና ያልነበረው የአማራ ህዝብ በየአካባቢው ግፍና መከራን ማስተናገድ ጀመረ፡፡ ይህ ሁኔታ ያሳሰባቸው ምሁራን በመነጋገር የመላው አማራ ህዝብ ድርጅትን ታህሳስ 2 ቀን 1984 ዓ.ም መሰረቱ፡፡ የድርጅቱ ሊቀመንበርም ፕሮፌሰር አስራት ሆነው ተመረጡ፡፡ ፕሮፌሰር አስራት የተጣለባቸውን አደራ ለመወጣት በሐገር ውስጥና ከሐገር ውጭ ድርጅታቸውን ማስተዋወቅና የተቃጣውን የዘር ፍጅት ለመመከት ጥረት አደረጉ፡፡ ከሐገር ውጭ ጉዞ በማድረግ በስዊድን፤ አሜሪካ ዋሽንግተን ዲሲ፤በሎሳንጀለስና ኒዮርክ በመዟዟር የድጋፍ ቻፕተሮችን አቋቋሙ፡፡ በሐገር ውስጥ በነበረው የህዝብ ጥያቄ መሰረት በደብረ ብርሃን ዘርያዕቆብ አደባባይ ታህሳስ 11 ቀን 1985 ዓ.ም በተካሄደው ህዝባዊ ስብሰባ ታሪካዊ ንግግር አደረጉ፡፡ የድርጅታቸው በአጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ ተቀባይነት ማግኘት እረፍት የነሳው የሽግግር መንግስት ፕሮፌሰሩን ‹‹ጦርነት ቀስቃሽ ንግግር›› አድርገዋል ሲል ከሰሳቸው፡፡ የዚህን ንግግር ጦርነት ቀስቃሽ መባል የሰማ የአካባቢው ህዝብም ‹‹እስካሁን አማርኛ እናውቃለን ስንል ኖረናል፡፡ አሁን ግን በሽግግር መንግስቱ በአዲስ መልክ መማር ሊገባን ነው›› ሲል ምጸቱን ገልጾ ነበር፡፡ በዚህም የተነሳ ማዕከላዊ ወንጀል ምርመራ ተጠርተው በ50 ሺህ ብር ዋስና ከአገር እንዳይወጡ እገዳ ተጥሎባቸው ተለቀቁ፡፡ በዚያው ዓመት ከጎጃም ከመጡ አርሶ አደሮች ጋር አሲረዋል በሚል ‹‹ለጥያቄ ይፈለጋሉ›› ተብለው ሐምሌ 5 ቀን 1985 ዓ.ም ተጠርተው ለ24 ሰዓታት ከታሰሩ በኋላ በ20 ሺህ ብር ዋስትና ተለቀቁ፡፡ ከዚያ በኋላ ሐምሌ 12 በነበረው ተለዋጭ ቀጠሮ ዋስተናቸው ተነስቶ ለ43 ቀናት ከታሰሩ በኋላ ነሐሴ 24 ቀን 1985 ዓ.ም ሊፈቱ ችለዋል፡፡ በወቅቱ በተደጋጋሚ እየተጠሩ ዋስትና ከመጠየቃቸው የተነሳ ‹‹የዋሶች ባንክ ማደራጀት ሳይኖርብኝ አይቀርም›› ሲሉ ምሬታቸውን ገልጸው ነበር፡፡

ከተደጋጋሚና አሰልች የፍርድ ቤት ምልልስ በኋላ ሰኔ 20 ቀን 1986 ዓ.ም የዋለው ችሎት ከጎጃም ገበሬዎች ጋር አስረዋል በሚለው ክስ የሁለት ዓመት እስር ተፈረደባቸው፡፡ ሐገራቸውን በታማኝነት ደከመኝ ሰለቸኝ ሳይሉ ያገለገሉ ሽማግሌ በጡረታ እድሜያቸው ከርቸሌ ወረዱ፡፡ በወቅቱ አምነስቲ ኢንተርናሽናል ፕሮፌሰሩን ‹‹የህሊና እስረኛ›› ሲላቸው የፍርድ ሒደቱንም ‹‹መረጃ አልባ›› ሲል አጣጥሎታል፡፡ ይህ በእንዲህ እንዳለ በእንጥልጥል የቆየው ደብረ ብርሃ ንግግር ክስ ተቀስቅሶ በሳምንት እስከ ሶስትና ሁለት ጊዜ ፍርድ ቤት እየተመላለሱ የሰላቻቸው ፕሮፌሰር አስራት ‹‹የምታውቁትን ውሳኔ የዛሬ 6 ወይም 9 ወር ከምትሰጡኝ ዛሬውኑ አሳውቁኝና እስር ቤት ቁጭ ብዬ መጽሐፍ ላንብብ›› ሲሉ ለችሎቱ በምሬት ተናግረው ነበር፡፡ ታህሳስ 18 ቀን 1987 ዓ.ም በዋለው ችሎት ፕሮፌሰሩን የ3 አመት አስር በየነባቸው፡፡ በዚህ ሒደት ውስጥ ፕሮፌሰር አስራት ከ150 ጊዜ በላይ ፍርድ ቤት ተመላልሰዋል፡፡ ከርቸሌ ታስረው በነበረበት ወቅት ከፖለቲካ እስረኞች ተለይተው ከፍታብሔር እስረኞች ጋር እንዲቆዩ የተደረገ ሲሆን መጽሃፍትና ጠያቂም በፈለጉት መጠን አያገኙም ነበር፡፡

የእስር አያያዛቸው የከፋ ከመሆኑ ጋር ተያይዞ በ1972 ዓ.ም የጀመራቸው የልብ ሕመም ተባብሶ እንዲሁም የስኳር መጠናቸው በመጨመሩ ከፍተኛ የጤና ችግር ላይ ወደቁ፡፡ ለብዙ በሽተኞች መድኀኒት የነበሩት አስራት ህክምና ተከልክለው የበሽታ መጫዎቻ ሆኑ፡፡ ከስኳራቸው ከፍ ማለት ጋር ተያያዞ አይናቸው ማዬት አልቻለም፡፡ ሰውነታቸውም እንደፈለጉ ሊታዘዛቸው አልቻለም፡፡ የልብ ድካማቸው ጨምሯል፡፡ ሕክምና እንዲያገኙ ለጠቅላይ ሚንስትሩ ሳይቀር ደብዳቤ ጻፉ፡፡ መፍትሄ ግን አላገኙም፡፡ የኋላ ኋላ ሲዳከሙ ወደ ጥቁር አንበሳ ሆስፒታል ቢወሰዱም ህመማቸው ከፍተኛ ደረጃ ላይ የደረሰ በመሆኑ መፍትሄ ሊያገኙ አልቻሉም፡፡ በመጨረሻም እ.ኤአ ታህሳስ 27 ቀን 1988 ዓ.ም ወደ ውጭ ሐገር ሄደው እንዲታከሙ ተፈቀደ፡፡ በከፍተኛ ሁኔታ በመድከማቸው አውሮፕላን ውስጥ በሐኪሞች እየታገዙ ወደ ለንደን ሆስፒታል በረሩ፡፡ ከ3 ቀናት ቆይታ በኋላ ወደ አሜሪካ ሆስተን አመሩ፡፡ በአሜሪካ ቅዱስ ሉቃስ ኤጲስቆጳል ሆስፒታል በነበሩበት ወቅት እንደተሻላቸውና ከልቡ ሲያስባቸው ለነበረው ህዝብ መልዕክት አስተላልፈው ነበር፡፡ ትንሽ እንደተሻላቸው ዘመዶቻቸው ወደሚገኙበት ፊላደልፊያ ከወር በፊት ተዛውረው በነበረበት ወቅት ባልታወቀ ምክንያት ህመማቸው ተባብሶ ተዳከሙ፡፡ ሞትን ድል ሲያደርጉት የኖሩት ሐኪም ግንቦት 6 ቀን 1991 ዓ.ም ፊላደልፊያ በሚገኘው ፔኒሲለቫኒያ ዩንቨርሲቲ ሆስፒታል በህክምና ሲረዱ ቆይተው በዕለተ አርብ በተወለዱ በ71 ዓመታቸው አረፉ፡፡ በወቅቱ የፕሮፌሰሩን ሞት ትልልቅ የአለም መገናኛ አውታሮች ሰፊ ሽፋን ሰጥተው ነበር፡፡

የፕሮፌሰሩ አስከሬን ታላላቅ እግንዶች፤ ቤተሰቦቻቸውና አድናቂቆቻቸው በተገኙበት ግንቦት 15 ቀን አሸኛኘት ተደርጎለት ከዋሽንግተን ዲሲ ጉዞ ጀመረ፡፡ ግንቦት 15 የተነሳው የፕሮፌሰሩ አስከሬን ሮም አርፎ ግንቦት 17 ቀን 1991 ዓ.ም ከቀኑ 11፡30 ሲሆን ቦሌ አለም አቀፍ አየር ማረፊያ ደረሰ፡፡ በስፍራው ሲጠባበቅ የነበረው ህዝብ አስከሬኑን በከፍተኛ አጀብ ለገሐር ወደሚገኘው መኖሪያ ቤታቸው አደረሰው፡፡ ግንቦት 17 ቀን ሌሊቱን ጸሎተ ፍትኃት ሲደረግ አድሮ በማግስቱ አስከሬናቸው በመሰረቱትና በኋላም በሞቱለት ድርጅታቸው (መአህድ) ጽ/ቤት ጥቂት ቆይታ ካደረገ በኋላ ወደ ስላሴ ካቴድራል አመራ፡፡ በስላሴ ካቴድራል ፍትሃትና ጸሎት ከተደረገላቸው በኋላ ስላሴ እንዳይቀበሩ መንግስት በመከልከሉ ምክንያት በባለወልድ ቤተክርስቲያን እንዲያርፉ ተደረገ፡፡ ይኸው ላለፉት 18 ዓመታት በባለወልድ የቆየው አጽማቸው ዛሬ ወደሚገባው ቦታ ስላሴ ካቴድራል ሊዛወር ችሏል፡፡ ፕሮፌሰር አስራት ወልደዬስ የሁለት ወንዶች ልጆች አባትም ነበሩ፡፡
.
ይኸ ጽሁፍ ዛሬ ቀብራቸው ቦታ ላይ የተነበበ ሲሆን የፕሮፌሠሩን ሙሉ የህይዎት ውጣ ውረድ ማወቅ ለምትፈልጉ አንጸባራቂው ኮከብ በሚል ርዕሥ የጻፍኩትን ሥለ ፕሮፌሠር የህይዎት ታሪክ የሚያትት መጽሃፍ ማንበብ እንደምትችሉ እጋብዛለሁ።
©ጋሻው መርሻ read more here

Ethiopia crises force millions out of school

From ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – MILLIONS of children are out of school in Ethiopia as the East African country endures successive natural disasters and conflict.According to the Education Management Information System (EMIS) of ministry of education, the number of children and teachers affected by the crises increased from 2,1 million in December 2015 to 4 million in June 2016.

However, the number has decreased to about 3 million between November and December 2016 but is still cause for concern.The Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said shortage of water and school feeding had been identified as a major contributor to student absenteeism and dropouts.Assessment data reveal that about 76 percent of primary schools in nine regions have no water available on school premises and 47 percent of schools are without latrines.“As a result, children’s school attendance is erratic and in some cases children dropout of school entirely due to families migrating in search of water,” said Unicef spokesperson.It is estimated that about 2 million school-age children in hotspots require school feeding in 2016/17 academic year.In many affected areas teachers reported a lack of student attentiveness in the classroom and low attendance rate due to limited provision of school feeding.

The loss of assets and livelihoods due to the drought has also compromised the capacity and purchasing power of parents and care givers to send their children to school.Parents are unable to cover the costs of school uniforms and learning supplies.It is also estimated that about 2 million school-age children need school implements.The UN’s International Office of Migration reported that 147 366 school age children were displaced due to the impact of the current drought, the worst in 30 years, flooding and communal conflicts.
– CAJ News

Africa on the Horn of a dilemma

NEWS ANALYSIS

When Saudi Arabia and its allies severed diplomatic relations with Qatar earlier this month, the fate of Ras Doumeira is unlikely to have figured high in their complex geostrategic calculations. Yet, on this barren, contested strip of land in the Horn of Africa, the ongoing Gulf Crisis threatens to dismantle nearly a decade of peace — and has put two African countries on a war footing.

Ras Doumeira is a tiny peninsula that juts out into the Red Sea, at the point where the sea starts to narrow into one of the world’s most important shipping lanes — the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, known in Arabic as the Gate of Grief.

It lies on the border between Eritrea and Djibouti, and both countries claim it. Both understand that whoever controls Ras Doumeira also controls the ships that pass it.

Since 2010, a 450-strong force of Qatari peacekeepers has kept a firm lid on tensions in the area, ensuring that neither side encroaches on a buffer zone designed to keep them apart. But Qatar suddenly has bigger problems. Saudi Arabia, with the support of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, among others, has accused the tiny emirate of sponsoring terrorism and has imposed a land, sea and air blockade.

Fighting fires on many fronts, Qatar decided that Ras Doumeira would no longer be one of them. Doubtless contributing to this decision is the fact that Eritrea has been vocal in its support for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which both have a military presence there.

Last week, without much warning, and without waiting for a replacement force, Qatar withdrew its peacekeepers from the disputed territory.

The consequences for Ras Doumeira were immediate. Djibouti accused Eritrean troops of occupying the area vacated by the peacekeepers and has lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations. The African Union got involved, sending a fact-finding mission to the area. All parties publicly profess a commitment to peace, but tensions remain 
high.

As veteran foreign correspondent Martin Plaut observed: “As ever, it’s difficult to predict how events will unfold, but sparks from Arabia can easily set the Horn alight.”

This might have been Qatar’s plan all along, with the tensions in their absence serving as proof of why their presence is needed — in this region and others. It could be interpreted as a warning, according to the Doha Institute’s Sultan Barakat and Sansom Milton.

“The potential fallout of the [Eritrea-Djibouti] crisis could have ripple waves spiralling out of the border dispute to the much larger Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict and the rest of the Horn of Africa at a time when the subregion is facing a massive humanitarian crisis.

“This should serve as a cautionary note for the potential of escalation in other places where Qatari assistance has been keeping the lid on conflict … This should focus the minds of world leaders on the need to resolve the Gulf crisis amicably as soon as possible,” Barakat and Milton wrote in an Al-Jazeera op-ed.

There are plenty of sparks from Arabia flying around Africa at the moment. The Gulf crisis has already drawn in several African countries — mostly in support of Saudi Arabia — and revealed the extent to which Middle Eastern rivalries are played out in Africa.

o far, Egypt, Eritrea, Senegal, Mauritania, Chad and Niger have cut ties with Qatar. Ethiopia and Sudan are on the fence. Only Somalia has come out in support of Qatar, having rejected an $80-million inducement offered by Saudi Arabia.

For long-time observers of the Middle East’s encroachment into Africa, these dynamics come as no surprise. Middle Eastern powers have been aggressively courting African allies over the past few years, said Na’eem Jeenah, the head of the Afro-Middle East Centre.

“From an economic point of view, Africa is seen as a good opportunity. Sovereign wealth funds are investing here because of the benefits as investments. The other economy-linked issue is land, and a number of Gulf countries have been 
buying up a lot of land in various parts of Africa. From their perspective, that’s about food security, although I’m not sure it’s always of great benefit to the people in the countries in which the investment is taking place,” he said.

But it’s not just about money, Jeenah added. The Gulf nations’ push into Africa takes place against the backdrop of the intense rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia — both are attempting to project their particular religious beliefs on the continent — and Africa’s geostrategic significance.

This is especially true in the Horn of Africa, where several Middle Eastern powers have built or are building military bases. These include a Saudi base in Djibouti, and UAE bases in Eritrea and Somaliland.

The sheer scale of the Gulf’s involvement in the Horn of Africa means that instability on one side of the Red Sea is almost certain to be felt on the other side — and right now, the Arabian peninsula is about as unstable as it has ever been.

“I am worried. This is serious,” said Harry Verhoeven, a professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

“The amount of money that comes from the [Gulf] side of the Red Sea as part of this rivalry or proxy war is so much, is so extensive, that it will be very hard for the different political systems in the Horn to, a, resist this money and, b, to keep it out, because if one actor is not taking it then other actors in the system might take it.

“The effect is incredibly destabilising because it increases the financial stakes of domestic politics, as well as the relations between these countries. The effect will not necessarily play out in days, but in months and years to come,” he said.

All that money comes with plenty of ideological baggage too.

“The second element that’s important and that’s hard to quantify but does matter is on an ideological level. I mean less than the three Gulf protagonists in the story [Saudi, the UAE and Qatar] are necessarily promoting very different societal models, but it is that growing sectarianism in the Gulf is being transported to the Horn of Africa.

“And that’s a much longer-standing worry in the Horn of Africa, that many of the religious and identity politics that are not necessarily always part of the politics of the region are becoming more important …

“That is a particularly poisonous trend that’s much older than this dispute, but that this dispute is aggravating,” said Verhoeven.

For now, an uneasy calm has settled on Ras Doumeira, as Djibouti and Eritrea explore diplomatic options to defuse the dispute. The same can be said for the region as a whole. While the Arabian Gulf goes through a painful, destabilising realignment, governments in the Horn of Africa know that they will feel the consequences — even if they are not entirely sure yet what those consequences may be. Read more here