Failed rainfall and conflict damage trigger severe food shortages, fatal hunger, and mass displacement across woredas in the Amhara Region
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — A compounding crisis driven by severe drought and the devastation of armed conflict triggered acute food insecurity and loss of life across multiple woredas in the Wag Hemra Nationality Administration Zone of the Amhara Region, according to reports by Deutsche Welle (DW) Amharic.
Local residents and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Wag Hemra Zone Diocese issued urgent appeals for humanitarian intervention, reporting that consecutive seasons of failed rainfall left tens of thousands of people in dire conditions. Lique Hiruyan Hayle Alemu, administrator of the diocese, emphasized in an interview with DW that the region’s suffering stems from natural disaster combined with war-related infrastructural destruction. He called upon humanitarian agencies and the wider public to independently verify the emergency on the ground.
In Sahla Seyemt Woreda, where over 66,000 residents face direct impacts from the drought, local administrators and community representatives confirmed that health facilities verified multiple fatalities from extreme hunger. Ato Eshetu Zegeye, head of the disaster early warning team at the Sahla Seyem Woreda Agriculture Office, stated in the DW report that official records document at least five drought-related deaths within the woreda, noting that strained local response capacities await broader assistance.
The crisis also forced displacement across the zone as vulnerable populations abandoned their homes to seek food and relief. Church officials note that families arriving at temporary shelters—such as those near the Medhanealem Church in Sekota—sleep outdoors while preparing to journey toward neighboring areas like Raya.
Regional authorities report that relief operations are underway in response to the emergency. Mrs. Serkadis Atalem, deputy commissioner of the Amhara Region Management and Disaster Prevention Commission, told DW that emergency food distributions target more than 66,000 vulnerable individuals across five affected woredas, including Ziquala, Dehana, Sahla, Sekota, and Gazgibla. According to the commission, authorities allocated approximately 11,000 quintals of grain to the zone and continued local distribution efforts.
However, local administrators and residents caution that initial rations fall short of meeting the sustained nutritional needs of populations facing total crop failure, underscoring the urgent need for scaled-up emergency food aid and medical support across the affected highlands.
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