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Oakland Tribune Article - Hurricane Exposed Two Americas | |
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Agence France Presse
August 31, 2003 Sunday
US congresswomen vow to seek more aid for drought-hit Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA: Three US congresswomen, who visited Ethiopia to review food security, have pledged to ask the US congress to support the troubled Horn of Africa nation in combating famine and AIDS, a foreign ministry official said on Sunday.
"The congresswomen said they would exert more efforts in soliciting additional support from the US congress by explaining the food security and HIV/AIDS prevention activities in Ethiopia," the official told AFP.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who met the congresswomen, commended the US government for donating emergency aid worth 500 million dollars to supplement government efforts to combat drought, which is currently affecting at least 13.2 million people, the official explained.
The United States donated 186,500 tonnes of food to Ethiopia in March, supplementing the 712,000 tonnes Washington had already sent since July 2002.
The congresswomen -- Donna Christensen, Barbara Lee and Sheila Jackson -- arrived in Addis Ababa last week and visited Awasa, a drought-hit region in southern Ethiopia, before leaving for home early on Sunday.
