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Addis Ababa, December 18, 2020 – Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and conflict-affected communities are in dire need of humanitarian and recovery assistance after weeks of conflict in the regional state of Tigray in northern Ethiopia.
The expansion of relief operations in Amhara follows the agreement for unimpeded humanitarian access that was reached between the United Nations and the Government of Ethiopia, and the first initial inter-agency joint assessment that was completed this week.
The majority of IDPs now seeking refuge in places of displacement are women and children who are forced to flee without being able to take their belongings. They are now in dire need of emergency shelter and non-food items. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has started operations to help these populations in need.
In North Amhara, IOM has provided emergency shelter and non-food items, including blankets and jerry cans, among others, to internally displaced people from Tigray. IOM has begun providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, site management support and emergency health assistance. Needs assessments have been carried out in ten accessible districts in the Afar and Amhara regions, where IDPs are currently housed.
“IOM stands ready to expand assistance to crisis-affected localities and populations in northern Ethiopia as more crisis-affected areas become accessible,” said David Preux, IOM Emergency Coordinator for Response to the Crisis in Northern Ethiopia.
The Organization has also provided sanitation and water transport services to IDPs at Kebero Meda Camp in Gondar, one of the sites identified by the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) as accommodation for IDPs from Tigray. IOM plans to carry out similar activities in additional locations as access is secured.
IOM teams are also working with local authorities to decongest sites for displaced people and build new collective shelters and community infrastructure. These will ensure safe and dignified living conditions and the physical distancing necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Complaint and comment mechanisms have been established to ensure accountability to affected populations.
In addition, IOM opened a new satellite office and warehouse where IOM teams in Gondar will place supplies and support the newly displaced from Tigray to Amhara. IOM leads WASH, health and site management activities in this area, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services.
More interagency assessments are planned in the coming days for other regions around and within Tigray, following security risk assessments. These assessments aim to gain a more detailed initial understanding of humanitarian needs and gaps on the ground.
Before the conflict, IOM’s DTM identified just over 100,000 internally displaced persons in 229 internally displaced sites in the Tigray region. DTM teams will soon resume data collection in most of the Great North region of Ethiopia.
“DTM operations will enable us to facilitate a coordinated and strengthened response and to capture the needs and location of IDPs, so that all partners can better support all crisis-affected populations, including IDPs, members of the host community and returned migrants, ”added IOM’s Preux.
Most of the internally displaced have reportedly moved to host communities close to their areas of origin. Some have stayed at collective sites. IOM is conducting site planning for these locations in anticipation of the construction of collective shelters and the division of existing buildings housing internally displaced persons.
The team is also providing technical expertise to support the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) relocation plan for IDPs currently housed in overcrowded conditions with limited access to basic services.
Furthermore, Ethiopia regularly receives a large number of cases of returnees from countries of transit and destination, particularly along the Eastern Route between the Horn of Africa and the Gulf states. More than 2,000 Ethiopian migrants originating from Tigray returned to Ethiopia between September and November 2020. Since 2017, and until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 30 percent of all returnees to Ethiopia have originated from Tigray.
As forced returns from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and trips to Tigray resume, many returnees will also need humanitarian assistance in the coming months.
Learn more about IOM’s $ 22 million appeal for humanitarian response to the situation in northern Ethiopia here. Shipping
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