Judith Kiros: Why the peace laureate doesn't care about starving children

Swedish aid money is being used to support internally displaced people in Liban, southern Ethiopia, who face starvation. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) has not extended its support to the aid organization Islamic Relief, leaving vulnerable populations dependent on dwindling resources.

The article paints a grim picture of the humanitarian crisis, detailing how infants like Bahasan are vomiting their milk and how aid organizations are forced to turn away children because they can only afford to help the most severely malnourished. This situation raises questions about the actions of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Despite facing a severe famine that threatens 20 million Ethiopians, Abiy Ahmed is reportedly building a $10 billion palace, a sum exceeding half of Ethiopia's annual budget. The author contends that this is not a surprise, given Ethiopia's history of using starvation as a weapon against its own people, particularly during the Tigray civil war. During that conflict, Ethiopian and Eritrean forces attacked livestock, crops, and irrigation systems while blocking food deliveries, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths.

The use of starvation as a weapon is not unique to Ethiopia, the article argues. It has become normalized in recent conflicts and genocides. The author points to Sudan, where 25 million people are threatened by starvation amidst burning and blocked food deliveries, and notes that Ahmed's government is accused of militarily supporting the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese militia accused of genocide. The situation in Gaza is presented as the most egregious example, where food has become a weapon, with reports of Israeli and American soldiers firing on starving Gazans attempting to retrieve food.