Ethiopia: Humanitarians call for financial aid to tackle crisis in Tigray
Young Ethiopians who fled the Tigray region arrived at the Sudanese border on December 1, 2020. AP - Nariman El-Mofty
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The ICRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are asking for around $ 53 million from international donors.
A sum intended to strengthen their programs in the Ethiopian region but also the other surrounding areas which are suffering the consequences of the conflict.
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With our regional correspondent in Nairobi
,
Sébastien Németh
Since the first aid convoy was able to enter Tigray on 12 December, the ICRC has been able to distribute 35 metric tons of food, help 4,500 people wounded by weapons and improve access to water in the capital. regional Mekele.
But in a crisis that now affects 3.5 million people in Tigray and its surroundings, it is a drop in the bucket according to Katia Sorin, head of the ICRC Ethiopia.
A very limited humanitarian presence
“
It’s not enough.
Three months after the start of the crisis, only a small number of humanitarian organizations have access to Tigray.
And their presence remains very limited.
We hope more can come.
To meet these considerable needs, the ICRC wants to step up its response and its presence by launching this appeal for funds,
”explains the humanitarian.
Faced with a lack of resources, the ICRC has had to make choices and has not yet been able to intervene in most rural areas, where the humanitarian situation remains very unclear.
The Ethiopian Red Cross and its president Ato Abera Tola, insists on the current urgency.
Aid is cut off
“
The situation is deteriorating every day and every minute.
And if we do not respond quickly, millions more will be affected in turn by the humanitarian crisis.
The crisis is so deep that it has also impacted livelihoods.
A year ago, the population already suffered from the locusts, then there was the war.
Today, many people have lost everything.
"
A partially amputated aid.
In Tigray, the Ethiopian Red Cross, for example, lost 30 of its ambulances, health centers and stocks of medicines.
These infrastructures are under attack because some believe they are helping the enemy, the organization says.
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To read also
: Conflict in Tigray: the United States changes your tone vis-à-vis Ethiopia
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