30 Years Of Change After The Famine In Ethiopia

With natural disaster, conflict, and disease, there's so much bad news about that we sometimes neglect to realize how far things have come. In 1984-85, over a million people in Ethiopia were devastated by a horrific famine. What has changed since then?

Famine, drought, and disease: A mother's worst nightmare

David Ward / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

The Ethiopia famine in 1984-85 caused great suffering to millions.

Now, a generation of children has recovered from the nightmare of famine

Alexander Whittle / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

Ansha, playing with her youngest daughter, Maida. Ansha was just 10 years old when Ethiopia’s infamous 1984 famine swept Antsokia Valley. Suffering from malnutrition, she recovered following treatment at one of World Vision’s emergency feeding centers. Now the mother of four healthy children, Ansha sells sugarcane by the truckload.

In 1984, hundreds of thousands died in the famine in north Ethiopia

Eric Mooneyham / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

World Vision flew journalists into Ethiopia to witness what was happening as thousands starved. The coverage this created ignited the world's compassion.

Today, hard work by many is yielding nutritious food and a sustainable income

Alexander Whittle / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

Farmers work their harvest in Antsokia Valley. Implementation of enhanced agricultural processes, water and sanitation, and microeconomic development has transformed the Antsokia Valley.

How focused, sustainable development pays off, lifting communities out of poverty

Jon Warren / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

Today, following three decades of intensive development work by World Vision, the Antsokia Valley is considered a regional breadbasket.

In 1984, the Antsokia Valley was an alien landscape, inhospitable for human or even animal habitation

David Ward / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

The mid-80s Ethiopia famine and drought created a landscape in the Antsokia Valley reminiscent of a voyage to an alien planet.

Today, a landscape transformed by development

Alexander Whittle / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

A scenic view of Ethiopia's lush Antsokia Valley as it appears today, three decades after the famine which affected more than a million people there.

And best of all, now there's hope for children in Ethiopia to grow up healthy and happy

Alexander Whittle / World Vision / Via worldvision.org

Sponsored children Bereket, 12, and Helen, 10, enjoy reading their Christmas cards and messages from World Vision sponsors. Child sponsorship has played a crucial role in helping to develop the Antsokia Valley and insulate it from the impact of recurring famines. For more about World Vision's work in Ethiopia, and the important role child sponsorship plays, visit www.WorldVision.org.