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Ethiopia issues unfamiliar investor warning over war and famine

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High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. Every country tapping the global sovereign bond market details the dangers investors face in its prospectus, often in a boilerplate section enumerating possible problems – such as fiscal deficits or taxation issues – that is largely ignored. But the document sent by Ethiopia to international investors ahead of its  foray into the global sovereign bond market  is somewhat different. Far from a boilerplate, it includes a list of unfamiliar hazards, such as famine, political tension and war. There is also the risk of famine, the “high level of poverty” and strained public finances, as well as the possible, if unlikely, blocking of the country’s only access to the sea through neighbouring Djibouti should relations between the two countries sour.The document, seen by the Financial Times, is a sobering reminder of the risk of investing in

The Luwa System of the Garbiččo Subtribe of the Sidama

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Culture and Psychological Responses to Environmental Shocks: Cultural Ecology of Sidama Impulsivity and Niche Construction in SW Ethiopia

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Abstract Sidama people occupy a subsistence niche partitioned between traditional enset agropastoralism and transitional maize farming. Enset production is low-risk and requires multiple years for cultivation and processing. Maize farming is high-risk, high-yield requiring only one growing season from planting to harvest. Contrasting enset and maize farming we examine effects of crop loss and social shocks on Sidama impulsivity. We argue that impulsivity is a psychological process that is differentially activated by environmental shocks in the stable, traditional enset regime and unstable, transitional maize regime. Using a robust psychometric model derived from Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) items we demonstrate two dimensions of Sidama impulsivity: Careful-Control [CC] and Acts Without Thinking [AWT]. Both dimensions are associated with environmental shocks, but the associations are moderated by social ecological regimes. In the enset regime, effects of shocks on impulsivity ar

The FAO honoured achievements of Ethiopia

The FAO honoured achievements of Brazil, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Iran, Kiribati, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, the Philippines and Uruguay. Brazil, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Iran, Kiribati, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, the Philippines and Uruguay according to the FAO are the latest in a growing list of countries to make great strides in combating undernourishment. During a ceremony at FAO headquarters, the Organization’s Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, awarded diplomas to government representatives of the 13 countries. “You have overcome major challenges in difficult global economic conditions and policy environments. You have demonstrated the will and mobilized the means,” Graziano da Silva said addressing the award recipients. The FAO Director –General urged countries to accelerate progress stating that “Progress in eradicating worldwide hunger over the next ten years “is gaining momentum”, but much more needs to

Ethiopia Tests Thousands for HIV in Record Attempt

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More than 3,300 people were tested for HIV Sunday in the Ethiopian region of Gambella, a massive turnout that exceeded expectations among AIDS campaigners who had hoped to test 2,000 people, according to local officials. Rahel Gettu, an official with the U.N. Aids agency in  Ethiopia , said they believe they broke the world record for the number of HIV tests carried out in one day. She said their claim was yet to be verified and confirmed by Guinness World Records. She said 3,383 people were tested for HIV within eight hours in a single event ahead of World Aids Day. Eighty-two of them received positive results. About 6.5 percent of Gambella residents have HIV or AIDS, a rate higher than the national average of 1.5 percent. Officials hope that voluntary AIDS testing in this region that borders South Sudan can lead to a reduction in the number of new infections. "It will help to bring together communities. It helps people to know their status in order to make informed c