based Food and Agriculture Organization appealed last week for 18.5 million dollars in emergency aid for residents of southern Ethiopia suffering from what are described as pre-famine conditions. The World Food Programme is also providing food to the most vulnerable groups in the area, according to OCHA. Ethiopia's state aid agency, the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Agency, last week announced it was dispatching emergency food aid to 1.5 million people in Somali and Oromia regions The Ethiopian army has also sent troops to participate in the relief effort, by providing escorts for trucks carrying supplies to Somali region.
