Twenty million people “desperately need humanitarian and health assistance”, 15 million of whom are in the northern regions affected by the Tigray conflict, warned representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The conflict is aggravated by outbreaks of cholera and measles, with 273 and 6,000 confirmed cases respectively, and malnutrition problems that affect one in five children under 5 years of age in Tigray, the director of Emergency Interventions told a press conference. of the WHO, Altaf Musani. conference.
WHO Ethiopia Director of Operations Ilham Abdelhai Nour added that although 5.2 million people in Tigray are in need of humanitarian assistance, the organization has not had access to the conflict-ridden region for the past six weeks.
“Before that, between March and August, during the humanitarian truce, we were able to send some aid, albeit small,” he said, noting that in regions where malaria cases increased by 80%, they had to suspend their aid programs. . .
The WHO also had to limit its COVID-19 vaccination programs to Tigray’s capital, Mekele, the director said, noting that only 10% of children can participate in immunization programs in that region.
Ethiopia’s two neighboring regions north of Tigray, Afar and Ahmara, also have humanitarian problems, Nour said, adding that these areas have large populations of displaced people where malnutrition rates reach 40% in children under 5 years of age.
In Tigray, the level of food insecurity reaches 89% of the total population, according to data from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
The conflict in Tigray began in early November 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed dispatched the federal army, supported by regional Amhara forces and the Eritrean army, to dislodge the region’s rebel authorities, the Front of Tigray People’s Liberation (TPLF). .
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition for decades before Abiy came to power in 2018 and toppled them.
After five months of humanitarian truces, fighting resumed on August 24.
Tigray is isolated from the rest of the country and deprived of electricity, telecommunications networks, banking and fuel. The flow of humanitarian aid by land and air has also stopped since the fighting resumed.
The outcome of the conflict, which largely unfolds outside the media spotlight, is unknown. The US ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Linda Thomas-Greenfield, estimated that in two years “up to half a million people died.”
The press does not have access to northern Ethiopia and communications function in a disorderly manner in the region, making any independent verification of information impossible.
Source: TSF
