‘The scale of suffering should have been making headline news’

ACROSS northern Ethiopia, millions of people are facing hunger. War and climate change have crippled crop production and driven people off their lands.

Women and young children in particular are being hit hard by the crisis – and it is getting worse by the day.

Earlier this year, I went to Ethiopia to investigate the devastating impacts of conflict and drought first-hand.

The scale of suffering should have been making headline news.

But, with the world’s eyes fixed on Gaza and Ukraine, the desperate plight of Ethiopians has failed to capture the international attention needed to avert a another major humanitarian crisis. Until now.

Today’s conference in Geneva is the wake-up call the world needs. International efforts are being ramped up to halt the crisis at this critical moment. The UK is helping to provide lifesaving support for hundreds of thousands of children and mothers suffering from malnutrition and needing emergency healthcare.

This comes on top of a package announced in February to ensure communities have better access to water, sanitation and healthcare – including childhood vaccinations.

It is awful that so many lives are lost to diseases which can be cured with simple medicines.

The UK has been on the front foot in doing everything we can to prevent further deaths and suffering, but we cannot do it alone.

Only international cooperation will shift the dial.

In a country that experienced famine almost 40 years ago – prompting the Band Aid single and Live Aid concert – the world needs to act fast again and act now.