UN agency says Ethiopia continues to face huge humanitarian challenges

Addis Ababa, April 19 The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said that Ethiopia continues to face huge humanitarian challenges attributed to natural and man-made crises.

In its latest situation report, the UNFPA said the East African country has continued to face "huge humanitarian challenges with conflict and displacement, and extended drought, floods, and disease outbreaks as the main drivers of need", reports Xinhua news agency

It said persistent food insecurity in northern Ethiopia, as well as consecutive hazards in drought-affected areas, are having detrimental consequences leading to health risks and increased protection concerns.

According to the Humanitarian Response Plan 2023, more than 20 million people are estimated to be in need of life-saving assistance, with 10 million people estimated to be in need of protection services in Ethiopia.

The UN agency said women and children make up more than two-thirds of the people in need in 2023.

As the northern Ethiopia region has become more accessible following the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in November 2022, the UNFPA said humanitarian actors have continued to scale up assistance to people in need as access, essential service provision, and the movement of aid continues to improve across the region.

According to the UNFPA, in Ethiopia's northern region of Afar, floods continue to drive displacement across five districts in the lower and central parts of the region, including increased acute malnutrition cases.

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