Ethiopia emergency
Ethiopia is currently facing two parallel emergency situations, which exacerbate levels of food insecurity in the country.
15 months into the conflict, more people than ever need urgent food assistance across Northern Ethiopia.
9 million people across the Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions are in need of food assistance as a direct result of the conflict: 4.6 million people in Tigray, 534,000 in Afar and 3.7 million in Amhara.
Despite the immense operational challenges, WFP has reached more than 4.4 million people across all three regions with unconditional emergency food and nutrition assistance as of mid-February. But with fuel and food stocks at an all-time low, particularly in the Tigray Region, WFP is unable to deliver at the pace and scale necessary to reach those in need.
No humanitarian supplies have entered the region by road since mid-December and fuel stocks have not been replenished since August – the last month WFP was able to reach vulnerable populations at scale. WFP estimates that on average only 30 percent of the caloric needs of crisis-affected populations were covered in the past months.
Widespread insecurity on Tigray’s borders and in the Afar Region means WFP cannot deliver food or fuel without risking the safety and security of its staff and humanitarian supplies. WFP needs guarantees from all parties to the conflict of safe and secure humanitarian corridors via all routes into the region immediately, so supplies can flow in and reach millions in need of life-saving assistance at scale.
US$302 million is urgently needed to rapidly scale up WFP’s operations in Northern Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, the country is experiencing the driest conditions recorded since 1981, with severe drought leaving an estimated 3.7 million people across the country facing severe hunger in the first quarter of 2022.
The shortages of water and pasture are devastating livelihoods, forcing families from their homes across the Somali, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ regions in the south and south-east.
Three consecutive failed rainy seasons have decimated crops and caused abnormally high livestock deaths; at least 267,000 livestock deaths have already been reported in the Oromia and Somali regions alone due to lack of animal feed and water.
WFP is already on the ground, supporting families with a combination of emergency relief food and anticipatory actions to save lives in the short-term and build resilience in the long-term.
However, to deliver its full drought response to 3.5 million people, WFP requires US$219 million.
Source: World Food Programme