On January 11, 2023, a woman holds a malnourished child in the nutrition unit of Gode General Hospital, in the city of Gode, Ethiopia. PHOTO AFP ADDIS ABABA - About 22.6 million people in Ethiopia are food insecure due to a combination of drought, conflict and an increase in food prices, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UNOCHA.
In its latest situation update released late Thursday, the UNOCHA said that an estimated 11.8 million people are food insecure in Ethiopia's drought-affected areas of Afar, Somalia, Oromia, and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples SNNP regions, and Dire Dawa city administration.
It warned of the worsening of food insecurity among internally displaced persons countrywide.
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The UN and international non-governmental organizations have brought more than 114,000 metric tons of food into the conflict-affected region of Tigray since mid-November 2022, according to the UNOCHA. As of Jan 23, partners assisted 16.3 million people in targeted locations across the country, completing round 1 of food distribution. Nearly 15.5 million people received food under round 2, and close to 8.1 million in round 3, which began in 2022.
The humanitarian response in Ethiopia has been increased with additional corridors opening and some hard-to- reach areas becoming more accessible.
Some areas of the county have been affected by disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria, and measles, where partners are taking preventative and remedial actions.
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It said the drought situation has deprived many vulnerable people of their livelihoods, increasing health risks if not already affected by malnutrition, and putting hundreds of thousands of children out of school, while insecurity and conflict in western parts of the country continue to displace more people.