|PIC1|Christian aid agency World Vision is appealing for donations and prayers for families and communities worst affected by Ethiopia’s food crisis.

Crops have failed as a result of poor and erratic rainfall, leaving more than six million struggling for survival. Many of those affected are families that depend on the land for their daily bread.

At a meeting last week on the prolonged drought plaguing parts of East Africa, the Ethiopian government appealed to the international community for food aid to feed 6.2 million people.

The UN’s World Food Programme says $175 million will be needed to feed people in Kenya, Somalia and Uganda in the next six months.

World Vision said there was a need to respond to the immediate needs brought on by the food insecurity but also to help communities achieve long-term, sustainable food security at the household level.

World Vision’s Programme Associate for East Africa, Dawn Goodwin, has just returned to the UK from a visit to Ethiopia.

“Balancing these dual challenges is a difficult and complex process, and we desperately need to ensure that adequate and sustained resources are available to respond to the current crisis and to help communities as they continue to build greater resilience for the future,” she said.

Ms Goodwin said continued support was needed to ensure enduring change in drought-hit communities.

She said: “The challenges faced are numerous and complex, and there is no quick or easy ‘fix all’ solution.”