Severe Food Shortages and Administrative Barriers Compound Famine Crisis in Amhara Region
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Severe food shortages caused by persistent drought conditions in Meraw Kebele, located within the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, have forced local students to drop out of school.
Meraw Kebele Administrator Tilahun Gebremichael confirmed that apart from a single delivery of 40 quintals of grain provided by Debarq University, no humanitarian food aid has reached the affected area. The administrator indicated that the number of displaced citizens currently sheltering in camps has reached 488, and stated that students have been forced to drop out of school due to a lack of adequate food. Tilahun added that when local leadership submitted complaints to woreda officials and relevant bodies, the response received was that officials lacked resources and that regional directives instructed against asking for aid.
Concurrently, civil society leaders reported that administrative barriers are actively obstructing non-governmental relief operations. Zemene Habtu, Board Chair of the local organization Synergy for Social Change, stated that although their organization requested permission to support the drought-affected area in collaboration with foreign organizations, the North Gondar Zone administration blocked them from providing aid.
According to Zemene, the zonal administration denied the permit, asserting that a drought problem beyond their capacity had not occurred and that the regional government was supporting the area adequately. Attempts to obtain clarification from the North Gondar Zone administration regarding the blocking of the aid permit were unsuccessful, as the zone administrator was unavailable for comment due to ongoing meetings.
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