The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
More than 90 % of Tigray’s population in need of emergency food assistance due to the conflict, says UN World Food Programme
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has provided emergency food assistance to over 1 million people since it started its distribution in March in north-western and Southern zones of Tigray region, Ethiopia’s troubled north.
“A total of 5,2 million people, equivalent to 91 % of Tigray’s population, need emergency food assistance due to the conflict”, WFP’s spokesperson Tomson Phiri today told reporters at the United Nations in Geneva. He added that “we are deeply concerned at the number of people we see in need of nutrition support and emergency food assistance”.
Fighting started in November 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray to disarm leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region’s former ruling party in response to TPLF attacks on federal army camps. More than six months later, the armed conflict continues. Aid agencies warn of a potential humanitarian catastrophe.
“Conflict has indeed interrupted or delayed some food distributions”, said WFP’s Tomson Phiri. “WFP is working closely with partners, with local leaders, and communities to improve access and deliver the life-saving food and nutrition support to end growing hunger in Tigray”.
This week, WFP kicked off a second six-week round of emergency food assistance, starting in Korem and Ofla, two of the five new districts in Southern zone recently added to WFP’s operational areas.
“Insecurity is challenging the ability of most emergency responders to reach people who are in need”, Phiri said. “A ceasefire and unimpeded access are vital not only for WFP but also for all its partners in Tigray to reach all areas and all people who are desperately in need of life-saving support”.
Much of Tigray still remains inaccessible to humanitarian workers. According to Tomson Phiri “access especially in rural areas remains the primary challenge. The WFP has delivered 315 emergency nutrition rations to children and women since February in 31 districts. In May, WFP reached almost 100, 000 children and pregnant or nursing women in all zones except for western”.
UNICEF said today that “the magnitude and gravity of child rights violations taking place across Tigray show no sign of abating, nearly seven months since fighting broke out in northern Ethiopia”. According to UNICEF, over 6,000 unaccompanied or separated children have so far been identified and registered for protection and assistance. Women and girls are still being subjected to appalling acts of sexual violence.
With the ongoing insecurity, WFP is seeing rising levels of malnourished women and children. “According to the nutrition cluster, which is a grouping of agencies who are working in nutrition, almost half of the pregnant or nursing mothers in 53 villages were either moderately or acutely malnourished”, Phiri said. “Almost a quarter of all children who were screened were found to be malnourished”.
The WFP has appealed for $203 million to continue to step up its response in Tigray to save lives through to the end of the year.
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a sunny day.
- Wide shot, podium with speakers in a near-empty Room XIV in line with COVID-19 distancing measures, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) —Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “A total of 5,2 million people, equivalent to 91 % of Tigray’s population, need emergency food assistance due to the conflict”.
- Tomson Phiri reading papers, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) —Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “We are deeply concerned at the number of people we see in need of nutrition support and emergency food assistance”.
- Close up, Tomson Phiri speaking
- SOUNDBITE (English) —Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Conflict has indeed interrupted or delayed some food distributions. WFP is working closely with partners, with local leaders, and communities to improve access and deliver the life-saving food and nutrition support to end growing hunger in Tigray”.
- Medium shot, attendees sitting with listening devices in Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) —Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Insecurity is challenging the ability of most emergency responders to reach people who are in need. A ceasefire and unimpeded access are vital not only for WFP but also for all its partners in Tigray to reach all areas and all people who are desperately in need of life-saving support”.
- Close up, Tomson Phiri speaking.
- SOUNDBITE (English) —Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “Access especially in rural areas remains the primary challenge. The WFP has delivered 315 emergency nutrition rations to children and women since February in 31 districts. In May, WFP reached almost 100, 000 children and pregnant or nursing women in all zones except for western”.
- Medium wide shot, TV broadcasting in foreground and podium to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English) —Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “According to the nutrition cluster, which is a grouping of agencies who are working in nutrition, almost half of the pregnant or nursing mothers in 53 villages were either moderately or acutely malnourished. Almost a quarter of all children who were screened were found to be malnourished”.
- Medium shot, Tomson Phiri reading papers, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, journalist in Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, spokespersons in Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
2
1
3
Edited News , Press Conferences | OSES
Barely 48 hours since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians’ create a peaceful and democratic future insisted that nothing could be taken for granted.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday called on States to do all in their power to end senseless conflicts and suffering.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.