By Dr. Mohamud Ugas
Editor’s Note: The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) had designed October 16, 1976 as World Food Day. This event is commemorated every year around the world with the focus being, according to FOA, “to raises awareness and understanding of approaches to ending hunger.” Accordingly, every year a theme is chosen to mark this event and this year’s theme is “Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world”.
It is in light of this that we have chosen to share with our readers a timely research paper -discussing the Ethiopian government’s deliberate and ‘intentional’ starvation policy in Ogaden – presented by Dr. Mohamud Ugas in the recently concluded Institute of Horn of Africa Studies and Affairs (IHASA) conference in the US.
Relaying on key informant interviews, anecdotal data, individual opinions and research materials, as well as his many years of field work experience in Ogaden, Dr. Mohamud Ugas shows the devastating effects of the “Ethiopian government approach and policies targeted at the Ogaden,” and how the mechanics of this starvation policy functions; reducing the inhabitants of this resource rich region, which was once ‘the Bread Basket’ of the Horn of African region, into destitution and poverty.
Full Article: IHASA Conf. Dr. Mahamud Ugas Muhumad
