The Minister for Africa has announced an additional
£29m of humanitarian aid to people affected by the catastrophic
conflict in northern Ethiopia.
The announcement marks World Food Day today [16 October] and
increases the UK’s commitment to the crisis to more than £75m -
making the UK the second largest donor.
The Minister is also calling on all parties in Ethiopia to
urgently agree a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid through and
for the Ethiopian Government to lift the de facto blockade of
humanitarian relief into the Tigray region. The people of Tigray
need 500 trucks of critical assistance per week, but less than
10% of this has been met since June.
The conflict has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, with the UN
estimating that 5.5 million people face acute food insecurity.
Over 400,000 people in northern Ethiopia are experiencing
famine-like conditions – more than in all of the humanitarian
crises in the rest of the world combined.
Minister for Africa, , said:
The Ethiopian people are facing a humanitarian catastrophe and
are in urgent need of support.
This pledge will provide vital food, water and healthcare to the
hundreds of thousands of people facing famine in northern
Ethiopia.
This is a man-made crisis. I urge all parties to urgently agree a
ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach starving people.
The new funding comes as the UK’s Special Envoy for Famine
Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, , recently concluded his third
visit to Ethiopia since the start of the conflict in November
2020, where he pressed for improved humanitarian access to the
areas affected by conflict.
Special Envoy said:
On my third visit to Ethiopia since the start of the Tigray
conflict, I saw a further deterioration of the crisis and the
conditions for humanitarian operations.
We are pleased to provide more funding but humanitarian agencies
need access into all areas where people are in need now, so that
lives can be saved and catastrophic famine avoided.
The conflict in northern Ethiopia has spread beyond the borders
of Tigray now, so we are expanding UK funding to reach those in
urgent need in Afar and Amhara.
The funding will be delivered by UN agencies and NGOs, including
the WFP, UNICEF, and the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund. Our partners
expect to deliver lifesaving nutrition treatment for more than
100,000 malnourished children, and 27,000 pregnant and new
mothers.
The pledge will also deliver clean water and sanitation for
26,000 people and provide services to prevent and respond to
gender-based violence for almost 3,000 women and children.
It will also support people who have been forced to flee their
homes by the spread of conflict across northern Ethiopia,
providing shelter, healthcare, and support to children who have
been separated from their families and to survivors of sexual
violence.
Notes to editors:
- Ethiopia is now one of the most dangerous countries in the
world for humanitarians with 23 aid workers killed in Tigray
since the start of the conflict.
- The UK led a joint statement at the Human Rights Council on
4th October, signed by 43 partners, calling on the Ethiopian
Government to reverse their decision to expel seven senior UN
officials on 30th September.
- The UK’s Ambassador for Human Rights raised the urgent need
for unfettered humanitarian access at the Human Rights Council
earlier this month and the former Foreign Secretary raised the
UK’s concerns over the conflict in a call with Prime Minister
Abiy in August.
