The first Arab woman goodwill ambassador for the UN World Food Program (WFP), Haya Bint Al Hussein, on Saturday called on donors to continue supporting food aid projects in Ethiopia.

Haya from the United Arab Emirates, who recently visited East Shoa in central Ethiopia, said the people she met needed food aid and other assistance to survive crises and build a better future.

"These people are proud people and don't want to live on handouts. It is heartbreaking to see that they are having to rely on our compassion. It is even more heartbreaking that we don't have more of it. Hunger is the very worst companion to live with," she said in a statement.

"It is possible and feasible to break the circle of poverty, but it is only a matter of making it a priority to the rest of the world," the ambassador added.

Despite a generally good harvest at the end of 2005, some 2.6 million people in Ethiopia will still require emergency assistance in 2006, according to WFP. The majority of these people are in drought-hit southern Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest and most indebted countries, which makes it particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as drought.

Because of frequent periods of drought, Ethiopia is chronically unable to feed its population and has to rely on massive foreign aid.

Source: Xinhua