Two years of severe drought and successive years of below-average rainfall have plunged Ethiopia into another food crisis.  The UN has warned that nearly 20 million people are in need of emergency food aid across the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia is using its own food reserves to address the shortages and the World Food Programme has started shipping in additional food, which will cover the requirements from September to December.

During the drought of 1984, close to 8 million people became victims of famine and over 1 million died. The situation was described by a BBC reporter as "the closest thing to hell on earth".

Currently, about 10% of Ethiopia's population of 77 million receives food aid of some kind. Ethiopiaid is monitoring the current situation closely and is ready to provide funding for emergency food aid as soon as it is needed.