Ethiopia Red Cross: 80% of Tigray region cut off from humanitarian assistance

President of Ethiopian Red Cross Society on Wednesday stated that nearly 80 percent of Tigray region was cut off from humanitarian aid, as UN articulated deep concerns, calling situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray ‘extremely alarming’. Tens of thousands are feared to starve to death in conflict-hit region, Abera Tola told a press conference. Meanwhile, reiterating Tola’s concerns, President of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Francesco Rocca, urged international community for increased humanitarian response to “better meet needs of people affected by recent fighting.” 

Speaking at end of his five-day visit to Ethiopia, including former capital of Tigray Mekele which Ethiopia has seized, Francesco Rocca said in a press conference, “I am very concerned about conditions that I saw during my visit.” He ded, “People were internally displaced by fighting, especially children, ir mors, and elderly,” ding that people in Tigray needed much more aid and humanitarian assistance to recover from devastating aftermath of armed conflict. “We need to scale up humanitarian operations,” Rocca said. IFRC Chief, furr, expressed concerns about hospitals being overwhelmed in region, which he said, lacked even basic medical supply. In an official statement, Rocca sounded an alarm regarding “serious concerns” relayed by local health officials about rising levels of malnutrition in Tigray. 

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“ Horn of Africa is facing chronic multiple crises, including widespre and severe food insecurity, and massive locust swarms that have contributed to furr crop losses," IFRC President Francesco Rocca said at a press briefing.

“ region is also grappling with COVID-19 pandemic which, among or impacts, has led to closure of schools. More than 6.4 million children are w without school meals and this has worsened malnutrition considerably.”

2.6 million in need of humanitarian aid

An estimated 2.6 million people in Tigray and jacent regions of Amhara, Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, and SNNPR need humanitarian assistance, Ethiopian Red Cross Society said in a press release, citing its on-ground assessment. Primary needs among affected people in Tigray include food and basic relief items, water and sanitation, medical supplies, and technical assistance for mobile clinics, it ded. In January 2021 alone, close to 200,000 people have been internally displaced in Ethiopia, and an estimated 60,000 fled into Sudan, Ethiopia Red Cross report revealed. team, in its analysis report, found at least 230 Ethiopian refugees in Djibouti, stressing humanitarian caselo for neighbouring nations and pushing for coordinated and comprehensive action by aid organizations. IFRC, Ethiopian Red Cross,  Sudanese Red Crescent and  Red Crescent Society of Djibouti are w jointly appealing nations worldwide for 27 million Swiss francs to provide for livelihoods of refugees. 

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