United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided shelter supplies for more than 82,500 people affected by the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
USAID also provided sleeping mats, blankets, and basic household items, including kitchen sets with pots, pans, and cooking utensils.
The conflict has forced an estimated one million people to flee their homes, with many now sleeping outside or in crowded shelters.
The relief supplies are part of USAID’s broader contribution to help people affected by the conflict.
‘Since the crisis began, the United States has provided nearly $305 million in humanitarian assistance – including food, nutrition, health care, shelter, relief supplies, safe drinking water, and programmes to protect the most vulnerable’, USAID said in a statement.
‘In addition, USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) remains on the ground to scale up the U.S. government’s humanitarian efforts’.
The conflict involving federal and local forces in Tigray has left hundreds dead and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
The conflict started on 04 November after the country’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, ordered the Ethiopian Defence Forces (EDF) to attack the Tigray Regional Paramilitary Police and militia loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Hundreds of thousands of people have been deprived of medical care for months and have received little humanitarian assistance, according to Doctors without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
‘It is critically important that all parties ensure unhindered humanitarian access. However, humanitarian assistance alone will not address the root of this crisis’, USAID added.
‘An immediate end to the conflict is needed to alleviate suffering. A cessation of hostilities, the immediate and complete withdrawal of Eritrean forces, and an end to the Ethiopian government’s deployment of Amhara regional forces in Tigray are essential first steps’.
More than 1.5 million people have been reached with emergency food distribution, with 26,000 Eritrean refugees residing in two camps also receiving food and nutrition assistance, according to World Food Programme (WFP).
Source: USAID
Photo source: UN Humanitarian
