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EU commissioner visits Ethiopia to access humanitarian status quo

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Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič visits Ethiopia on June 20-21, to see first-hand the humanitarian situation in the northern parts of the country.
With his visit, the Commissioner reaffirmed European Union’s support for the humanitarian response needed in the north of the country as well as in the south and south-eastern parts of Ethiopia, hit hard by a prolonged drought not seen in the past 4 decades.
He also discussed the humanitarian situation with the Ethiopian authorities, the authorities of the Somali region, the humanitarian community, and some people in need. Lenarčič also met with Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonen and Tigray regional authorities in Mekelle.
He said at a news conference in Addis Ababa on Tuesday that the number of trucks bringing food to the regional capital, Mekelle, has almost reached the level necessary to cover the basic humanitarian needs of the people of Tigray.
“I took note of the recent progress on provision of some basic humanitarian assistance. I welcome the increased number of trucks entering the region. However, much of the blockade of Tigray remains. The desperate situation, which I witnessed first-hand when visiting the hospital in Mekelle, requires the urgent scaling up of humanitarian aid so that humanitarian workers can deliver assistance to all in need, including people outside of the capital of Tigray.”
However, he said the aid effort needs more fuel so that humanitarian workers can deliver assistance to all in need. “More fuel is needed because without it, even this food assistance that comes to Mekelle cannot reach rural areas, where the needs are highest, fuel shortages due to government restrictions have severely limited access to life-saving supplies, even as aid warehouses are full,” the EU’s commissioner for crisis management explained.
Lenarčič also urged Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government to lift financial restrictions which are hampering the provision of basic services such as telecommunications, banks and electricity.
“I urged both sides to the conflict to seize the momentum and continue to build on progress made to-date, for full and unhindered access into the region, with sufficient supplies of food, medicines, fuel, and cash for humanitarian partners. Importantly, basic services need to be restored urgently to allow people to start providing for themselves,” he said.
“Despite the world’s attention mostly focused on the situation in Ukraine, the EU continues to stand by, with humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable elsewhere around the globe, including Ethiopia’s most vulnerable – and I call on all parties involved to do their utmost to facilitate this aid reaching all those who need it most,” the commissioner explained.
“The EU continues to show its solidarity with the people in need in Ethiopia, many of whom are facing multiple, overlapping humanitarian crises. During my visit, I met people for whom the drought brought an end to their livelihoods as they had to leave their homes. I met parents worried about the health of their malnourished children,” said the commissioner, adding, “Even though emergency humanitarian assistants will be there whenever needed, yet humanitarian aid alone is not a solution. We need to look for longer terms for sustainable solution to address the root causes of such humanitarian crises due to the drought.”
In 2022, the EU allocated more than €58 million to life-saving humanitarian projects in Ethiopia, including support to conflict-affected people – in Tigray, Afar and Amhara, and other areas; assistance to people affected by food insecurity and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition; and continued aid to refugees in Ethiopia.

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