It was a familiar gathering. Ethiopian government officials, members of the donor community, relief workers and journalists exchanged greetings as they took their seats in the Nyala Room of Addis Ababa’s Hilton Hotel.
The United Nations had arranged a briefing on the humanitarian situation, in advance of the visit to the Horn of Africa by the UN Secretary General’s special envoy, Catherine Bertini, who is the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme. In his opening address, the UN Resident Co-ordinator, Samuel Nyambi, immediately highlighted the problem: ‘Ethiopia needs 836,000 metric tonnes of food assistance this year’.
