RSS FeedRain comes, but no relief for life-giving livestock
Rain comes, but no relief for life-giving livestock
Erratic and localised storms are an ironic extra hardship for the pastoralist communities of the Afar, Ethiopia, which are struggling under the protracted and severe drought in East Africa. The Afar rely on their cattle for income, and without them they cannot afford the skyrocketing food prices.
Erratic and localised storms are an ironic extra hardship for the pastoralist communities of the Afar, Ethiopia, which are struggling under the protracted and severe drought in East Africa.
Image right: The skeletal remains of a cow lie where the animal fell in the baked rural areas of Borena, south Ethiopia.ACT/DCA/Binyan Mengesha
“The herd by now is extremely weak from poor to no pasture,” reports the Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) this week. “The community has been fighting in the last days to keep the remaining herd alive, feeding them what they can scrounge from foliage.” Too often, though, the weakened animals, cold and wet, become diseased and die.
The Afar rely on their cattle for income, and without them they cannot afford the skyrocketing food prices.
“The top-danger now is the carcasses: unburned they contaminate water sources, cause diarrhea outbreaks and transmit diseases to living animals through contaminating the ground they die on.”
While the international focus is currently on saving human lives, APDA says that the health of animals is intertwined with humans and must be considered, and that assistance with fodder and veterinary medicines are vital.
When the drought is over, the Afar will face a long struggle to re-establish their herds and their income generating potential.
- Donate to the East Africa: Ethiopia & Kenya Drought Relief effort here
- Donate to the East Africa: Somalia Appeal with ACT Alliance here
- Read more about the Afar here, and how Anglicord is working with the Afar Pastoralist Development Association to build resilient communities.
- "The cattle are dead - we'll be next"