The American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) has joined with more than 20 other private voluntary and public interest organizations concerned about the drought in Africa in a newly-formed Ad Hoc Group on the Africa Food Emergency.
At a recent Capitol Hill press conference, Rep. William Gray (D. Pa.) noted while “the United States has historically provided nearly 50 percent of all emergency food aid to Africa” this year its assistance is “less than 25 percent of immediate African needs.”
Rep. Thomas Daschle (D. SD) urged that $130 million which has already been appropriated by Congress under the Title II Food for Peace program “be utilized now” to meet the need in Africa.
Nathan Shapiro, the AAEJ’s president, said in a statement from the group’s head quarter’s in Highland Park, Illinois, that “now, more than ever, as conditions in Africa continue to worsen due to meager harvests and depleted food stocks, the United States government must increase its rate and level of response to pleas from international relief agencies for food, medical and transportation supplies.”
An October, 1983 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warned that 120 million people in 22 African countries will need 3.2 million tons in food aid next year, to replenish the food shortage caused by the widespread drought. In Ethiopia, three million people, among them many Falashas, are endangered by starvation and as many as 100 children die every day from hunger-related diseases.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
