Despite impressive economic growth and decades of capacity building, it faces another humanitarian crisis as one of the worst droughts in living memory scorches the Horn of Africa.
At the beginning of the year, 5.6 million Ethiopians were in need of food aid, primarily in the south and southeast of the country.
Why are the numbers in need increasing?
This year, the Ethiopian government has committed $147 million compared to last year’s unprecedented $700 million.
At the same time, the World Food Programme was able to increase its humanitarian support from 1.7 million people to 3.3 million in the Somali region.
“Since 2015, we have been working with international aid agencies, making assessments together and disclosing the numbers of beneficiaries,” Kassa, the agriculture minister, hit back.
Earlier this year, inter-community conflict broke out between ethnic Somali and Oromo in the Somali Region, resulting in dozens of deaths and more than 50,000 people displaced.
As a result, international agencies and the government face having to restock flocks or provide pastoralists with new livelihoods – further stretching budgets.