from ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – THE hunger emergency in Ethiopia has been lamented as the most severe in the world currently and described as mass starvation.
This emergency is the culmination of a civil war that has been raging since late 2020 in the northern region of Tigray.
As many as 9,4 million people in Ethiopia are in need of urgent food assistance as the conflict escalates.
At least 5,2 million people urgently need food support.
More than 3,1 million children are at risk of malnutrition
Over 3,5 million people no longer have access to safe drinking water
“The hunger emergency in Ethiopia is the most severe in the world right now and can best be described as mass starvation,” said Catherine Harris, Caritas Australia’s Humanitarian Coordinator.
She said it was also extremely challenging to get humanitarian aid to the people who need it, because there were limited supplies, fuel and cash in the country.
Thus, even when humanitarian workers secured enough wheat flour or shelter supplies in the quantities needed in the conflict-torn region, they might not be able to source the fuel necessary to transport these supplies.
“It means that everything takes longer, is more complicated to organise, and costs more than normal,” Harris said.
The East African country is also facing its worst locust plague in 25 years.
Last week, more than 50 civilians were killed and injured in a midnight air strike in a refugee camp in northern Ethiopia.
– CAJ News