UNITED NATIONS, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The humanitarian situation in northern Ethiopia continues to be of extreme concern, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Thursday.
It has been impossible to deliver aid by road into the northernmost region of Tigray for the past three months, notably due to ongoing fighting along the route in the neighboring Afar region, it said.
Many aid activities remain reduced or suspended in Tigray. Fewer than 7,000 people received food assistance in the past week, a tiny fraction of the 870,000 people the United Nations and partners are trying to assist each week. Humanitarian partners also warn that less than 10 percent of the required amount of improved seeds have been brought into Tigray before the start of the planting season, only a month away, said OCHA.
Medical and nutrition supplies continue to be flown into Tigray's capital, Mekelle -- 18 tons during the past week. Over 100,000 livestock were vaccinated in the past week with supplies brought in on recent flights, said OCHA. "But this is far less than we can transport by road, and shortages of fuel make it difficult to distribute the supplies that do arrive."
In Afar, an estimated 200,000 people displaced by the fighting remain in areas that the United Nations and partners are unable to reach due to insecurity. In accessible areas, over 112,000 people have received food assistance since late February. Humanitarians aim at reaching some 620,000 people in the coming weeks, said OCHA.
In Amhara, to the south of Tigray, people continue to flee to the Kobo, Zekuala, Sekota, and Zarima districts. They need additional shelter and other forms of assistance. The United Nations along with the government and local nongovernmental organization partners provided food to some 430,000 people in the past week in Amhara, bringing the total number assisted to more than 8 million since late December, said OCHA. ■
