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David Beasley’s announcement on Twitter comes as fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in Tigray are mounting, three months after clashes broke out between forces loyal to the regional ruling party and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The government and WFP “have agreed concrete steps to expand access for humanitarian workers in #Tigray, and WFP will expand its operations,” Beasley said on Twitter after a visit to Mekele, the capital of Tigray.
A WFP statement said Ethiopian officials had agreed to expedite reviews of humanitarian workers’ requests to move within the region.
He also said that WFP had accepted government requests to provide emergency food aid to one million people in Tigray and to help with transportation to hard-to-reach rural areas.
Ethiopia’s peace minister, Muferihat Kamil, said in a separate statement that the government “was moving urgently to approve requests for international personnel movements to and within Tigray.”
Senior UN officials and international NGOs have repeatedly complained about restrictions on access to Tigray, where fighting persists despite Abiy’s declaration of victory in late November after federal forces entered the regional capital.
The government has downplayed fears of widespread famine while promoting its own efforts to meet the needs of a population of around six million.
It says it has provided emergency food aid to 1.8 million people.
Tigray remains largely isolated from the media, making it difficult to assess the situation on the ground.
During a visit to Ethiopia last week, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi stressed the need for a more efficient system to facilitate access for humanitarian workers and distribute aid.
“We hear from everywhere, including local authorities, that more is needed” beyond what the government is providing, Grandi said.
“The situation, as I said, is very serious, it is very urgent. Without further measures, it will get worse.”
In his Twitter post on Saturday, Beasley said that “almost 3 million people need our help NOW and we have no time to waste.”
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