The United Nations (UN) has announced the creation of a $ 40 million fund to support life-saving humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians in Ethiopia.
United Nations Chief of Humanitarian Operations Martin Griffiths said in a statement on Monday (November 16th) that “millions of people in northern Ethiopia live on a razor’s edge as humanitarian crisis worsens and extends ”.
According to Martin Griffiths, $ 25 million of the total fund was raised from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), while the remaining 15 million was allocated by the Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF), based in the country.
This new allocation brings CERF’s support to Ethiopia this year to $ 65 million, making the country the second largest recipient of CERF funds in 2021. FHE support this year now stands at some $ 80 million. of dollars. However, humanitarian operations across the country face a funding gap of $ 1.3 billion, including $ 350 million for the Tigray region alone, the agency said.
Note that the United States on Saturday ordered the departure of its non-essential staff from its embassy in Ethiopia, where fighting has intensified this week in the north between government forces and Tigrayan rebels who threaten to march on the capital.
Ethiopia’s federal government, led by 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed, has been at war for a year against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in the north of the country.
