The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced that about 4 million citizens in six drought-stricken regions of Ethiopia need urgent food aid.
The office requested that financial assistance be given to him as soon as possible for the support of the country; He warned that funding coming in March and April would be “extremely slow”.
Ocha stated this regarding Ethiopia’s humanitarian aid supply and demand yesterday, January 1; 2016 in his statement.
The Coordinating Office; He mentioned in the statement that due to the drought in Ethiopia, citizens in Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, Afar, South Ethiopia and Southwest regions are in great trouble.
Ocha. According to the information I received from the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, 1.7 million residents of the Amhara region, where there are major drought victims, are receiving aid.
In the statement, the areas affected by drought in the Amhara region are North Gondar, South Wolo, North Showa and North Wolo, as well as the administrative zones of Wag Khamra and Oromo Behesherab.
In the Tigray region, drought has occurred in 36 districts in five zones, according to the Human Affairs Coordination Office.
The bureau announced that 1.4 million citizens in these areas are in urgent need of emergency food assistance since January.
According to Ocha, only 49 percent of the arable land in the Tigray region has been cultivated, and only 37 percent of the crops that were harvested in the last harvest season.
the office; “[Amhara and Afar regions] if humanitarian aid is not provided at the time, the authorities of Amhara and Tigray regions are concerned that due to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation due to drought and food shortage, the authorities of Amhara and Tigray regions are concerned,” he said, raising the concern faced by the two regions.
According to Ocha’s statement, apart from food insecurity and severe food shortages, the occurrence of malaria, measles and cholera epidemics in drought-stricken regions has exacerbated the problems in the areas.
The Bureau emphasized that a coordinated multi-sectoral response is needed to reverse the problems faced by drought in these regions.
For this reason, he called on those who provide financial assistance to increase their support in the month of January.
“Many [people] who are suffering and in need, after their problems have worsened, the money coming from March to April will be very late,” he said, stressing the need for urgent financial assistance.
The Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, on the other hand, announced in a statement yesterday that adequate preparations have been made to cover the slaughtering demand in the country from January to March.
The Commissioner, Ambassador Shiferau Teklamariam, who made the statement, explained that 1,118,700 quintals of food worth 9.2 billion birr will be provided by the government and partners to the 6.6 million citizens who will be supported in these months.
