Over 8 million people in need of humanitarian aid

Cases of displacement due to ethnic violence constitute a significant proportion of those in need of humanitarian aid

Ethiopian National Disaster Prevention Commission had a presser on Thursday regarding the humanitarian situation in the country.

Authorities of the commission said 8.86 million Ethiopians need humanitarian aid –that is about 9 percent of Ethiopia’s entire population.

According to the commission, over US $ 1.3 billion is needed in funding to address the humanitarian aid need in the country and the commission has called up on donor countries.

46 percent of those in need of humanitarian assistance are in Oromia region, 22 percent are in Somail region, 12 percent in Amhara, 10 percent in Southern Ethiopia and 4 percent in Tigray and Afar regions of Ethiopia.

From the entire figure 3.1 million are displaced people, according to a report by state broadcaster EBC – which cited the commission’s statement.

Ethic violence in different parts of Ethiopia, especially under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration, has become a pervasive problem as radical ethno-nationalism that tends to see other Ethiopians as aliens and a threat to their respective ethnic communities’ existence is on the rise.

At times displacement of citizens is given administrative cover under the guise of “enforcing ruling of law.”

For example, in the last two weeks, thousands of homes were ripped off in Legetafo area which is placed under Oromo regional administration under the existing ethnic based fedral arrangement, just in the north outskirts of the capital Addis Ababa, under the cover of “illegal construction” and master plan for green area expansion.

As a result, thousands of families are reduced to homelessness and government has not yet provided them with humanitarian assistance.



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