Ethiopians in need of emergency food aid have had their rations cut by a third because of food shortages, BBC online reports Friday.
The number of people in need of help has almost doubled because of a drought earlier this year. The government relief agency increased its estimate of those requiring urgent assistance to more than 4,5 million.
A local official from the UNs World Food Programme (WFP) said each person would get 10 kg of wheat, maize and sorghum (durra) this month, down from 15 kg previously.
By early June it was clear that Ethiopia was in the grip of a severe food crisis. Now it has reached the point where the stores are almost empty and there is just not enough food for everyone who needs it.
Yolanda Hoegenkamp of the WFP said the government and its partners had to make the difficult choice between feeding only the most needy or trying to get supplies to all those in need but reducing the rations. More than 126.000 Ethiopian children could be affected by malnutrition.
