Justice minister, DGA chief discuss partnership to boost digital judicial services    Netanyahu does not rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders    US farmers are being squeezed – and it's testing their deep loyalty to Trump    Romania condemns 'irresponsible' Moscow after Russian drone breaches its airspace    Kirk's assassination is forcing US politicians to make difficult choices about their safety    India players refused handshakes, says Pakistan coach    Final stage of Spanish Vuelta cycling race abandoned after disruption by pro-Palestine protesters    Mané fires Al Nassr past Al Kholood to keep perfect start as Ronaldo honored    Lacazette brace earns NEOM SC first Saudi Pro League win    Adolescence star Owen Cooper makes Emmys history at 15    Saudi liquidity grows 8.4%, reaching SR3.1 trillion in July 2025    Over 434,000 people acquire first aid skills during nationwide health campaign    Saudi Arabia's legislative advancement highlighted at International Conference on Judicial Training    Sudden swerving among 3 major causes of accidents in Riyadh in 2024    Princess Haifa emphasizes pivotal Saudi role in shaping future of tourism    Sahm Capital names Saudi Olympian Fayik Abdi as brand ambassador    SR9000 fine for copyright infringement using AI    King Charles and Prince Harry finally reunite after 19 months apart    Anastacia: Arnold Schwarzenegger made me sing Whatta Man 12 times    Thousands pay their last respects to Giorgio Armani, private funeral on Monday    The key to happiness    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



A record 9 million need food assistance in northern Ethiopia
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 28 - 01 - 2022

After 15 months of conflict in Ethiopia, almost 40 percent of Tigrayans are suffering an extreme lack of food, according to data released by the World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday.
Meanwhile, across all three conflict-affected regions of the north, more than nine million people now need humanitarian food assistance, the highest number so far, since conflict erupted in November 2020, between Government and rebel forces.
According to the Tigray Emergency Food Security Assessment, 83 percent of people are food insecure.
Families are exhausting all means to feed themselves, with three quarters of the population using extreme coping strategies to survive.
Diets are increasingly impoverished as food items become unavailable and families rely almost exclusively on cereals. At the same time, families are having to limit portion sizes and the number of meals, to make whatever food is available stretch further.
In terms of nutrition, 13 percent of Tigrayan children under five, and half of all pregnant and breastfeeding women, are malnourished, leading to poor pregnancy outcomes, low-birth weight, stunting and increased maternal death.
For WFP's Regional Director for Eastern Africa, Michael Dunford, the bleak assessment reconfirms that "what the people of northern Ethiopia need is scaled up humanitarian assistance, and they need it now."
According to him, WFP is doing all it can to ensure convoys with food and medicines make it through the frontlines, but no convoy has reached Tigray since mid-December.
"If hostilities persist, we need all the parties to the conflict to agree to a humanitarian pause and formally agreed transport corridors, so that supplies can reach the millions besieged by hunger", he warned.
In the neighboring Amhara region, hunger has more than doubled in five months because the region bore the brunt of recent fighting between the Ethiopian Government's military forces and Tigray forces.
In Afar province, the fighting has reportedly led to tens of thousands of men, women and children being displaced in the last few weeks.
Across the three regions, more than 14 percent of children under five and almost a third of pregnant and breastfeeding women are malnourished.
Recent health screening data shows malnutrition rates for children under five were at 28 percent, far above the standard emergency threshold of 15 percent.
Intensified conflict on the Tigray-Afar border in recent days is expected to force more communities from their homes and deeper into hunger.
WFP estimates that on average, crisis-affected families in northern Ethiopia were getting less than 30 per cent of their caloric needs in the past months, pushing people deeper into crisis.
Constant humanitarian food assistance will be necessary throughout 2022, said the UN agency.
Since March, WFP has reached almost 4 million people across northern Ethiopia with food and nutrition assistance.
When access to Tigray improved during the summer months last year, humanitarian assistance from the agency and its partners kept starvation at bay for those who had been cut off from assistance, prior to May.
With no access to Tigray currently, aid continues to be scaled up in areas of Amhara and Afar, which are accessible.
More than 523,000 people received food in Amhara in the past week, with some 3.2 million men, women and children, having been reached with food assistance since last October.
In Afar province, nearly 380,000 people have been reached in this current round of food distributions.
WFP's northern Ethiopia response urgently requires $337 million to deliver assistance over the next six months and will begin running out of the capacity to purchase food from February.
Across the entire country, the agency has an unprecedented funding gap of $667 million to assist 12 million people. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.