Hacking Hunger – Episode 4: A Slow-Motion Disaster in Ethiopia

When it comes to natural disasters, you might think of earthquakes, hurricanes or typhoons – the kind of sudden, hand of God catastrophes that strike without warning. But what does a slow motion natural disaster look like? If you visit parts of Ethiopia right now, you can see it for yourself: a parched landscape of muted browns and yellows, withered plants and bony herds of starving livestock. A historic drought is sweeping Ethiopia – and more than 10 million people have been pushed into hunger.

In this episode, we speak to two humanitarians in Ethiopia – John Aylieff from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Dianna Darsney de Salcedo from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the single largest donor to U.N. World Food Programme Ethiopia operations— to hear how families are coping with one of the worst droughts in decades.

We also hear from Abebe Haregewoin, an Ethiopian man who is raising money from his home in Silver Spring, Maryland to help the U.N. World Food Programme feed people in his homeland.