UNICEF officials say humanitarian aid is flowing into previously inaccessible areas of the poor Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. He says that thanks to the government's humanitarian ceasefire with the Tigray People's Liberation Front, life-saving aid has reached hundreds of thousands of people in need.
Researchers at the University of Ghent in Belgium estimate that as many as 500,000 people have died in the war, hunger and other indirect causes in Tigray. This is the first time Ethiopian troops have invaded the region on November 4, 2020 in response to an attack by the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
In an interview with VOA from his office in Addis Ababa, UNICEF's Ethiopian representative Gianfranco Rotiliano has changed since the government truce was declared in March. It says that it was. He says he expects 170 trucks to roll into previously blocked areas in April, increasing to more than 1,000 a month.
Rotigliano explains that the needs are immeasurable. He states that more than 5 million people in Tigray need international assistance, as well as 7 million people in the conflict-affected Amhara and Afar regions.
"There is a great need to repair looted and destroyed infrastructure ... and children receive or receive medical services due to lack of supplies in certain areas. It's also very difficult to do. Immune. Many schools are closed, so children can't go to school and there is an increased risk of looting and sexual abuse in the area, "he said. rice field.
UNICEF estimates that nearly 400,000 children in northern Ethiopia are malnourished. Compared to 36,500 during the same period last year, 80,000 severely malnourished children are said to have been treated for this life-threatening condition, indicating a serious exacerbation of the situation.
Rotigliano states that VOA's priorities include food, seeds, fertilizers, as well as cash paid to civil servants, doctors, nurses, and other important unpaid workers. I am. He says another serious problem is lack of fuel.
"This is a big problem because fuel is not an Ethiopian problem. It's a global problem. As you know, the war in Ukraine has raised the price of fuel and the actual fuel. Supply has declined, so this is a big problem we have and the problem we are facing now, "he said.
Rotigliano warns that the distribution of life-saving aid to millions of people in Tigray will be seriously impacted if fuel is depleted.
UN agencies estimate that 100 trucks carrying food, medicine, non-food and fuel need to arrive in Tigray daily to meet the humanitarian needs of the region.
