It has been 30 years since the BBC’s historic broadcast from famine-stricken Ethiopia, sparking Bob Geldof’s famous “Band Aid” appeal. Throughout the 1980s, Western eyes saw only destitution and poverty there, as the world was transfixed by images of mass graves and skeletal children. But as a frequent visitor to the country, it struck me that we were underestimating the skills of Ethiopian people.
It was a troubled environment. Our colleagues in the region described how the effects of famine were exacerbated by government blocking of food distribution. Very few aid organizations were allowed to work in Ethiopia at the time, while large sections of the population were forcibly pushed into food deprived areas. Some 400,000 people are estimated to have died as a result, according to a 1991 report by Human Rights Watch.
As international pressure mounted to relieve the people’s suffering, WaterAid was identifying local partners to help address the broader problem of water and sanitation access. In 1990, around 86 percent of Ethiopians did not have access to safe, clean water and a shocking 97 percent were without a basic toilet, according figures from the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
About the author
Stephen Turner
Stephen Turner is a former senior manager at WaterAid. He joined the organization in 1990 as a member of the senior management team, responsible for growing the charity through strategic planning and fundraising, and was heavily involved with the campaign to see the United Nations recognize sanitation as a target indicator for the Millennium Development Goals before retiring in 2008. He previously worked as an education officer, field director and regional manager for VSO.
