Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Washington DC/New York, US
Reuters
An unpublished analysis by United Nations agencies and aid groups estimates some 350,000 people in Ethiopia’s conflict-torn Tigray region are in famine conditions, according to an internal UN document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The Ethiopian Government disputes the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis, according to the notes of a meeting on Monday of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee – made up of the heads of at least 18 UN and non-UN organisations.
Residents carry jerrycans along a street in Dansha town in Tigray Region, Ethiopia, on 9th November, 2020. PICTURE: Reuters/Tiksa Negeri/File photo.
Famine has been declared twice in the past decade – in Somalia in 2011 and in South Sudan in 2017, according to the IPC. UN agencies, aid groups, governments and other relevant parties use the IPC to work together to determine a situation.
“On the risk of famine, it was noted that the unpublished IPC analysis figures were being disputed by the Ethiopian government, notably the estimated 350,000 people across Tigray believed to be in IPC 5 famine conditions,” the document read.
It also said the analysis had found that millions more across Tigray required “urgent food and agriculture/livelihoods support to avert further slides towards famine.”
A senior Ethiopian diplomat in New York, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the government disputed the analysis, questioning the survey methods and accusing the IPC of a lack of transparency and not enough consultation with relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, the United States is providing more than $US181 million to deliver food, water and aid to feed more than three million people it said were facing famine in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where thousands have been killed since conflict erupted in November.
The aid, provided through the US Agency for International Development, will provide enough food to feed three million people for nearly two months as well as seeds, tools and fertilisers to help farmers replant crops, according to a statement from USAID.
The agency will also provide safe spaces and psychological support for women and girls as well as case management for survivors of gender-based violence, according to the statement.
“The already dire situation in Tigray is deteriorating at alarming speed. As a result of the conflict, nearly 90 per cent of Tigray’s population – as many as 5.2 million people – need urgent assistance,” USAID said, calling on other donors to “urgently step up” and increase contributions.
Thousands of people have been killed since the conflict erupted, two million have been forced from their homes and 91 per cent of the population of nearly six million are in need of aid, according to the latest report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
USAID in the statement called on the Ethiopian government to remove what it said were barriers that prevent aid workers from saving lives and said all parties to the conflict must take immediate steps to protect the workers.
The United States has contributed nearly $US487 million in humanitarian assistance since the crisis began, according to the statement.
