The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing emergency food aid for 13,000 people in the severely drought-affected area of Gode, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.

The primary goal of the project is to ensure the survival of those living in the hardest hit area of Ethiopia, in the southern Somali region. ADRA is working in one of the worst affected areas, Adadle Woreda, a district in the Gode Zone that consists of 40 villages, where malnutrition and death rates are higher than most other parts of the country.

The project targets groups most vulnerable to the drought. "We want to focus primarily on extremely weakened children under the age of five, because they are at the most serious risk of dying,” said Gaby Heuser, disaster response project coordinator,ADRA Germany. “We also will provide support for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and HIV and AIDS patients."

Recipients will receive special therapeutic food during the worst period of the drought, starting June 1. Each will receive enough food to last them for one month. Those who suffer from HIV and AIDS will also receive more than six pounds of a high-energy, vitamin-enriched food supplement.

The project, worth nearly $300,000, is funded primarily by the German Government, in partnership with the ADRA office in Germany. The intervention will continue through August.

ADRA has been active in Ethiopia since 1982, when it first provided emergency relief for a drought-related famine. Since then, ADRA has focused its efforts on development activities, becoming involved in health, education, water and sanitation, and food security projects. ADRA also managed two Therapeutic Feeding Centers in Boricha Woreda in the Sidama Zone to battle the effects of malnutrition and starvation during the famine of 2003.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious affiliation, age, or ethnicity.