Ethiopia
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Considered one of Africa’s most populated and poorest countries, Ethiopia is faced with frequent droughts and food shortages
More than 40 per cent of the country’s 74 million people are living below the poverty line of less than one dollar a day.
The majority of Ethiopians rely on farming and cattle-herding to feed their families and make a living. Agriculture also provides 60 per cent of the country’s exports which include coffee, meat, oilseed and leather.
But an increasing number of droughts, irregular rains and poor soil caused by overgrazing and deforestation mean that crops and livestock are suffering. Currently the food production of over 13 million people is at risk.
CAFOD shares a jointly-managed office, programme, strategy and staff with our sister agencies Trocaire and SCIAF, reducing the burden on our local partners and helping us be more effective in our work together.
We support work on improving long-term farming conditions such as the small scale raising of water tables. Our work also includes supporting people living with HIV and community building.
Ethiopia and its neighbours are the focus of our major Kenya and East Africa Crisis Appeal , providing emergency food rations to malnourished children, pregnant women, and new mothers. We are also supplying herding communities with water and animal feed.
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Abune Tessefelassie Medhin is the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia. He explains how Christians and Muslims are working together to tackle fundamentalism, improve water supplies and combat HIV and AIDS. |
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Your Parish can choose to follow a community in one of these six countries. Hear from local people, find out about their lives, and swap messages of support. |
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How do people cope with severe drought? or the aftermath of war? Or the constant threat of losing their homes? This is your chance to get behind the headlines and take a journey with ordinary people leading extraordinary lives. |
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CAFOD director Chris Bain explains why, wherever we put our cross on the ballot paper this election, we must look for a vision of a future based on the common good. |
![CAFOD supporters have lobbied for - and won - commitments on aid, debt and a fairer system of world trade [Kate Stanworth]](/var/storage/images/images/politicians-statespeople-and-celebrities/cafod-trade-justice-lobby-of-parliament/247481-2-eng-GB/cafod-trade-justice-lobby-of-parliament_0column75_06space_landscape.jpg) |
Our Policy Unit researches and analyses international policies affecting poor communities, and suggests alternatives to reduce poverty |
