In spite of its fertile farmland, the African nation still teeters on the brink of starvation

CrisisPeople line up for assistance at a hospital and stabilization center, run by Medécins Sans Frontieres. In the

six weeks before mid-July, the group treated 11,800 children for severe acute malnutrition

Bread BasketEthiopia is home to 66 million farmers and boasts abundant fertile lands. But because rain failed to appear between the critical months of January and May, prices in the country rose over 400%, according to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Too SmallA child is measured at an MSF clinic in the South Oromia Region. Observers note that part of the country's problem is its over-reliance on aid from the west. Because so much food has been distributed in Ethiopia for free, its farmers have stopped trying to grow crops.

ProcessionA man carries the body of a child who died of malnutrition to a funeral. Fifty out of 1,000 children treated at the clinic died from severe acute malnutrition.

TragedyThree children's bodies lie in a makeshift morgue at the South Oromia clinic.

MourningEthiopians grieve at a child's funeral

VerdantCrops grow in a field near the village of Kuyera. Crops that grow in the region include barley, potatoes and tef, used to make a flat spongy bread.

To MarketA woman sells potatoes near Kuyera. A kilogram of potatoes that used to sell for one Ethiopian Birr, or about 10 cents, a year ago, now sells for 4 to 5 Birr

PovertyPeople wait for assistance at the South Oromia clinic. Ethiopia is the fifth most impoverished nation on the planet. The average annual income is $108, the equivalent of approximately 30 cents a day

FuneralA woman carries the body of a child who died of malnutrition

TearsA woman grieves the death of a child

FearfulPeople gather for assistance at the clinic. In Ethiopia, 4.6 million people are at risk. This includes about 75,000 children, whose small bodies deteriorate faster, making them more susceptible to severe acute malnutrition.

Who'll Stop the Rain?The tragedy of Ethiopia spooks aid workers like Jean de Cambry, an MSF emergency Coordinator who has witnessed these terrible situations in other countries. "It's very bizarre," he says. "It's so green, but you have all these people dying of hunger."

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