There have been at least 700 reported deaths in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia due to hunger in the last several weeks. This is after food assistance was suspended by the United States and the United Nations, according to local authorities and experts.
After discovering a plot to steal donated wheat meant for the poor, the UN and the US halted food assistance to Tigray in March. Around one-sixth of Ethiopia's population or 20 million people, were affected when the interruption extended to the whole nation at the beginning of June.
Hunger-Related Deaths
Since food assistance was cut off in March, the Disaster Risk Management Commission in Tigray has documented 728 fatalities directly linked to starvation in three of the region's seven zones, as AP News reported. As per the head of the commission, Gebrehiwot Gebregziaher, the data was compiled with input from district authorities.
Tigray is in a really precarious state right now. Gebrehiwot said many people are losing their lives as a result of food scarcity.
In the northwest zone of Tigray, which is sheltering thousands of people who fled a two-year violence that concluded in November, 350 individuals have died from malnutrition. In the middle of March, US assistance workers visited a market in Shire, the largest town in the zone, and discovered adequate food supplies for 134,000 people for sale.
Mekele University in the regional capital has recorded 165 fatalities from starvation in seven camps for internally displaced people in Tigray since the stoppage of food supplies started. Over a hundred of these camps may be seen in the surrounding area.
A source stated that the majority of those deaths were youngsters, the elderly, and those with preexisting health concerns. He connected the fatalities to the cutoff in food assistance.
See Also: USAID Suspends All Food Aid to Ethiopia: Here's Why!
Accusation Against the Ethiopian Government
The recent war has left 5.4 million of Tigray's 6 million inhabitants dependent on food assistance. As a result of government restrictions on humanitarian supplies and widespread looting on both sides of the conflict, the UN has accused the government of "using starvation as a method of warfare." Aid delivery to the area resumed after a truce was agreed in November 2022.
Food assistance was stolen in Ethiopia, according to humanitarian workers who spoke to the AP News, which first reported the story. The US will not resume food assistance until they are no longer involved in the distribution process and stricter controls are put in place.
Ethiopia has committed to a collaborative inquiry with the US as the UN's World Food Program (WFP) investigates the disappearance of supplies in Tigray and other locations.
The US and the WFP continue to administer nutrition initiatives for women and children despite suspending food supplies. However, a shortage of resources has slowed them.
See Also: Ethiopian Airlines Sued for Alleged Tigrayan Travel Bans
