[ad_1]
Reports from humanitarian workers in the conflict-affected region of Ethiopia indicate an increase in acute malnutrition as insecurity, bureaucracy and the presence of various armed actors hamper humanitarian efforts.
A new United Nations report has sounded the alarm about a “very critical malnutrition situation” unfolding in Ethiopia’s troubled Tigray region, citing continued insecurity, red tape and the presence of “various armed actors” as major obstacles to efforts to deliver life-saving aid. to rural areas still out of reach of humanitarian workers after more than 100 days of conflict.
“Despite some progress, the humanitarian response remains drastically inadequate compared to the sheer scale of needs in the region,” the report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA) said on Saturday.
“Assistance remains particularly limited in rural areas due to limited access and security volatility, and there are acute gaps and challenges in all sectors.”
It came after the Ethiopian Red Cross warned in early February that without better humanitarian access to a region where 80 percent of the population of six million remains unreachable, tens of thousands of people could starve after two months.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered troops into the northern region on November 4, saying the operation was in response to alleged attacks on federal army camps by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the ruling party. regional government that once dominated the federal government of the country. Abiy declared victory on November 28 after the TPLF withdrew from the regional capital, Mekelle, and major cities, but low-level fighting continues. Some high-ranking members of the TPLF remain at large, although the federal government has captured or assassinated several former officials.
In one of the Ethiopian government’s most outspoken public comments yet, Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde noted in a statement Friday “significant delays that persist in reaching people in need.”
“The needs are tremendous, but we cannot pretend that we do not see or hear what is unfolding,” he said after a visit to Mekelle.
The government-imposed blockade of the northern region and a narrow communications blackout have made it extremely difficult for aid agencies facing the humanitarian crisis to access and assess. It has also made it nearly impossible for media seeking entry to investigate artillery strikes in populated areas, deliberate attacks and massacres of civilians, extrajudicial killings, looting and widespread rape.
However, the OCHA document noted that reports from humanitarian workers on the ground indicate “an increase in acute malnutrition throughout the region.”
According to the report, a screening test of 227 children under the age of five showed “staggeringly high malnutrition,” although it did not mention the number of cases.
The UN agency also reported that an assessment of more than 3,500 children found 109 with severe acute malnutrition. The World Health Organization describes this condition as “when a person is extremely thin and is at risk of dying.”
“Malnutrition (in Tigray) is expected to deteriorate as households are limited to fewer meals every day,” the report said.
In addition, OCHA noted that “extremely worrying reports” of attacks against civilians, “including rape and other forms of gender-based violence,” continue to appear.
“Displaced women and children are at increased risk of abuse and exploitation, while recent assessments at collective centers for displaced persons in Mekelle, Adigrat and Shire showed that severe lack of infrastructure leaves women and girls exposed to sexual violence. and gender “. the report scored.
Thousands of people are believed to have died since the fighting began, hundreds of thousands were forced from their homes and some 60,000 fled to neighboring Sudan. Ethiopia said on Friday that humanitarian aid has reached 2.7 million people in Tigray.
Aid workers have described trying to circumvent a patchwork of authorities including people from the neighboring Amhara region who have settled in some communities in Tigray, as well as soldiers from neighboring Eritrea whom witnesses have accused of looting and burning. crops.
Eritrea and Ethiopia have previously denied that Eritrean troops operated on Ethiopian territory.
[ad_2]
