| Administrative History | Allocations: 1936, 1937-1941 (refugees), 1942-1943, 1967-1968, 1970-1972, 1974-1993; programme spending in 1993/94, 1994/95; for later allocations, see subsequent annual reports
Ethiopia was invaded by the Italians in 1936. In 1941 Allied Forces recaptured the country and restored the Emperor. In 1974 a coup deposed the Emperor and installed a military government. A Soviet-style government was formed in 1987. This was overthrown in 1991.
SCF began aiding Abyssinians in 1936, following the outbreak of war. This aid was given mainly through the Bible Christian Missionary Society working in refugee camps in British Somaliland. At the same time, the International Save the Children Union delegate, Mrs Frieda Small, was setting up in Addis Ababa the first child welfare centre in country. This included a canteen for under-nourished children, an infant welfare centre and a playground. This work was funded by SCF with the assistance of the Association of Ethiopian Women. The work had to be ended following the fall of the country to the Italians. Following the Italian takeover, thousands of refugees fled Abyssinia, mainly to Kenya and Somaliland. These refugees were aided by SCF. In the latter country SCF had to import milk for children, local supplies being unreliable. This aid continued up to 1941. Following liberation of the country in that year, there were plans to restart SCF's prewar work but although money was given in 1942 and 1943 the death in 1945 of the SCF supporter most closely associated with the country, Lady Barton (wife of the former British ambassador), seems to have brought the prospects of work to an end.
Small grants were made in 1967 and 1968 and between 1970 and 1972. Towards the end of 1973, SCF teams began to arrive in Ethiopia in response to the famine conditions in Wollo and Tigre. SCF took responsibility for feeding and medical assistance, working in three camps near Alamata in northern Ethipia. Once the major part of the famine was under control, SCF began to carry out surveys in preparation for establishing long-term mother and child health work in the villages.
With other agencies and the National Drought Relief Operation, SCF was involved in a nutritional survey of other areas in Ethiopia. By 1975 it was being anticipated that this work would soon be handed over to the government, with expatriates continuing to be involved in an administrative and advisory role. In 1976 SCF was working with other agencies in Bale province in the south to provide emergency feeding because of drought. In December 1975, guerillas attacked a Norwegian SCF convoy and three staff were injured, including an expatriate nurse who lost her sight as a result. From May 1975, SCF supported the Wollo provincial health deparment's mother and child health programme, which was being considered by the Health Ministry as a pilot for work elsewhere.
From November 1975, SCF was also supporting a programme in Tigre province. Work was being planned in Asmara and Keren, although expansion into Eritrea was subject to approval in Addis Ababa and local conditions. By 1977 SCF had had to cut back its operations as a result of the deteriorating situation in the country, and having been forced with other aid agencies to leave the Ogaden, water supply work in Wabi Shebelle was cancelled. Support was given in Eritrea, and in a limited degree in Tigre. Work also continued in Wollo, Bati, Gondar and Eliwoha. When the mother and child health programme in Wollo ended in 1978 a new two-year programme was agreed with the government, including immunisations and support for 12 health centres. Work was also being carried out in Dessie, Bati and Eliwoha.
The three-year mother and child health programme in Tigre ended in November 1978. In 1981 SCF was also working with refugees from the crisis in the Ogaden. By 1983 evidence of famine was already available to SCF staff working in Ethiopia, and other agencies were alerted while SCF set up a relief centre at Korem. Work continued in Wollo, Bale and the refugee camps in Hararghe. A number of staff were briefly held by the Tigray People's Liberation Front. In 1984 prospects for the harvest were not good, and SCF was helping at three other feeding centres. The team running the Korem operation was captured and held by marauders, and local staff ran the project for some time. As the harvest failed, numbers oat the feeding centres rose - two more centres were opened, at Kobo and Bulbulo - and a purpose-built feeding compound was set up at Korem which greatly aided the work. A feeding centre was also set up at Hararghe. By 1986 things had improved somewhat but there were still famine conditions. SCF began rehabilitation work and a pilot irrigation scheme designed by the Ministry of Agriculture was set up at Lake Haik. Work was being carried out to return children who had become separated from their families. Ethiopian refugees had also fled to Somalia.
In 1987 SCF, as well as running a famine relief and distribution network was also operating a nutrition monitoring and early warning system, support for mother and child health services and for an immunisation programme. Aid in the northern provinces was increasingly disrupted by fighting. In 1988 heavy fighting in north-western Somalia led to 400,000 refugees fleeing across the border in Ethiopia. SCF was invited by the Ethiopian government and the UN to help in the planning and running of refugee camps. |