The United Nations is sounding another alarm about severe foodshortages in Ethiopia, where tens of thousands of children are facingstarvation.  VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports the U.N.children's agency UNICEF is appealing for nearly $50 million inemergency aid for the hardest-hit areas, where food stocks are depletedand the next harvest is months away.

A malnourished child waits for food aid in the southern Ethiopian town of Shashamane, 06 Jun 2008

A senior U.N. children'sagency official visiting drought-ravaged areas of southern Ethiopiaduring the past week found families with no food, not enough money tobuy any, and no hope of replenishing supplies until at least lateSeptember.

UNICEF Deputy Director Hilde Johnson says everywhere she went, government officials and aid workers gave the same assessment.

"Aclear message was conveyed to us from all of them: There is no food,"said Hilde Johnson. "The assistance needs to be taken to scale, and ithas to happen urgently.  There was absolutely no inconsistency.  Thatwas the message from everyone."

The UNICEF official says duringher four-day visit, she had positive meetings with Prime Minister MelesZenawi and other senior leaders, some of whom have accused aid agenciesof exaggerating the food shortages for fund-raising purposes.

Hilde Johnson (undated photo)

UNICEF'sJohnson says in her talks, all government officials agreed the foodshortages are serious and getting worse.  She told reporters theministers expressed hope the crisis would ease later this year ifconditions improve.  But she says there are many 'ifs'.

"Thegovernment do think they will be able to curb in the sense thesituation later, meaning August, September, If the rains come inaccordance with normal, If there is an adequate vegetable harvesting,If other complementary measures are kicking in, plus If the suppliesthey are buying externally to come into the market, plus aidbilaterally they are negotiating comes in," said Johnson. "So there isa clear "if", and that is no secret."

U.N. humanitarian agenciessay it is impossible to know how widespread the food shortages are in acountry where record-keeping is poor.  

"It is very verydifficult for us to say how many children are dying," she said. "Fromour visit in the hot spot areas of Kambala, we were told by healthextension officers that children were dying in the villages now, andthat for quite many it was too late.  There is no doubt there is a riskof children dying in numbers in the hot spots."

Ethiopianofficials have repeatedly emphasized that this drought is not a famine,such as the one in the mid 1980s that killed an estimated one millionpeople.

Ethiopia's disaster preparedness agency this monthmore than doubled its estimate of the number of people needing foodassistance from 2.2 million to 4.6 million.

Disasterpreparedness agency chief Simon Mechale is predicting worse conditionsin July.  He recently appealed to donor nations for $325 million worthof emergency food aid to make up an expected shortfall of 390,000metric tons until the next harvest comes in.