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NORTH ETHIOPIA: AFAR DEPRESSION

Related /Similar Terms: Danakil Depression,Afar Triangle, Afar, Afar Ethiopia,Afar people,Dallol, Erta Ale, & Danakil In Eastern Ethiopia ,near the southern end of the Red Sea,an immense ,more or less triangular depression descendes far below sea level (at some points 120 meter below sea level). Known as the Danakil Depression,this extremely hot and dry area is actually a part of the Africa's great rift valley. In this seemingly inhospitable area there live the nomadic Afar people who number about 3 million. Their external borders are Eritrea,Djibouti, and Somalia.

The region where these people live is also called Afar-one of the nine regions of Ethiopia. Its current capital is Asayita; a new capital named Semera on the paved Awash - Assab highway is under construction.

The Afar Depression is a plate tectonic triple junction where the spreading ridges that are forming the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden emerge on land and meet the East African Rift. The Afar Depression is one of two places on Earth where a mid-ocean ridge can be studied on land, the other being Iceland.At present ,the Afar is slowly being pulled apart at a rate of 1-2 cm per year. basalt (SOURCES 13 SUNS.COM ONLINEGUIDE TO ETHIOPIA).

he Sultan of Afar, Ali Mireh Hanfareh, recognises the severe problems facing the state. He told IRIN that education was the key to solving many of them. "Education is the most important thing for my people," he said from his home in Asayita, the capital of Afar State. "You cannot do anything without education." But the sultan, who is the region's traditional ruler, said the entire state had just three secondary schools – one of which he had built himself. Only one percent of Afars ever finished primary school. Moreover, he pointed out, the miniscule educational component available was also serving to drive away the people who benefited from it, lured by higher wages and better lifestyles in other parts of the country or abroad. As pastoralists, the Afar move over vast distances with their livestock, irrespective of borders. The lowland region, which covers 270,000 sq km, occupies one-fifth of Ethiopia, has a population of about 3.4 million, according to the last census in 1994. Only about five percent of the Afar population have access to proper health care. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), two hospitals serve the entire population, which, it says, is grossly inadequate. "Basic infrastructure such as electric power supply, transport and communications, are grossly deficient, which have posed serious roadblocks on the service delivery," a 2001 WHO report said. In almost every area of health, the Afar were well below the national average, the report added. No health outreach service has been offered for three years because of financial constraints and a lack of transport. Immunisations against disease were almost zero, it added. In the sweltering capital of the region, Asayita, where temperatures often reach 45 degrees centigrade, electricity is only available - if at all - to half the town at any time. A 45-km dirt (SOURCESUN OFFICES FOR THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS).