The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
STORYLINE
The first round of food distributions to people in Afar and Amhara regions impacted by the spread of the conflict in northern Ethiopia has been completed, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
However, distributions of supplies into Tigray are lagging behind due to various impediments to the movement of humanitarian aid, the UN agency warned.
“It is absolutely vital that we have the full cooperation and support of all parties to the conflict so that we can reach all affected populations with urgently needed food assistance before we have a humanitarian catastrophe on our hands across all of northern Ethiopia,” said Tomson Phiri, WFP spokesperson.
“Up to seven million people across the three regions (Tigray, Amhara and Afar) are now in dire need of food assistance; 5.2 million people in Tigray and the rest are in Afar and in Amhara,” he told journalists in Geneva. In Afar and Amhara regions over 840,000 people (700,000 in Amhara and 140,000 in Afar) have been displaced due to the current conflict, according to the government estimates.
Since 15 August, WFP has delivered food to almost 300,000 people in Amhara and Afar, while nearly 2.5 million people have been reached with food assistance in the northwest and parts of southern Tigray, Mr. Phiri said, noting that WFP aims to reach almost 3.5 million people across all three regions; 2.7 in Tigray, 210,000 in Amhara and up to 540,000 in Afar in the next round of distributions.
Mr. Phiri pointed out that in June the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) - which analyses the severity of food insecurity - estimated that in Tigray up to 400,000 people would be facing famine-like conditions by now. “Anecdotal reports from all three regions suggest that food insecurity is on the rise,” he said. The food pipeline in Tigray remains “hand to mouth”, he said, with “a multitude of issues affecting the free movement of convoys”.
However, according to the WFP spokesperson, there has been positive news: “in recent weeks security issues have been largely overcome. Five convoys - 171 trucks - entered Tigray between 5-29 September” he said. These carried a combined total of 6,150 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies. This is enough to feed more than 360,000 people for one month. Despite these recent convoys, only 11 per cent of the humanitarian aid needed has entered the region.
Mr. Phiri told the meeting that one of the major impediments to the delivery of cargo was that a vast majority of commercial trucks were not been able to return from Tigray. However, he said that WFP has been continuing to work with commercial transporters to overcome any issues deterring the trucks from leaving. Recently “we’ve had more than 90 commercial trucks that have exited Tigray and are now available for movement of humanitarian aid into the region”.
But he reiterated that the combined needs of the humanitarian sector require “100 trucks to be arriving daily to provide food baskets of cereals pulses and vegetable oil to 210,000 people a day”. Mr. Phiri also emphasized that while WFP has been successful in enabling 90 trucks to exit Tigray, “fuel stocks are running critically low”. Pointing out that fuel is “vital to keep operations running and facilitating the movement of humanitarian aid into and across the region” he stressed that WFP needs ”200,000 litres of fuel entering Tigray each week to keep operations running”.
Across Ethiopia, WFP aims to reach 11.9 million people in 2021 with food, nutrition and cash support and delivering activities to boost communities’ self-reliance and food security. However, WFP continues to face challenges in terms of resources, the spokesperson said. “We need $184 million to continue to scale up its response in northern Ethiopia. For all activities in the country, WFP has a funding shortfall of $426 million. We continue to appeal for additional funding and increased and sustained access so we can continue to provide assistance in a timely manner”.
ends
STORY: Ethiopia - Food Distributions
TRT: 03:25’’
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 05 Oct 2021, GENEVA, Switzerland
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
2. Medium shot, speakers and participants inside briefing room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has completed its first round of food distributions to people impacted by the spread of conflict into Afar and Amhara regions. However, a lack of supplies due to various impediments to the movement of humanitarian aid still sees distributions in Tigray lagging behind.”
4. Medium shot, participants taking notes.
5. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “Anecdotal reports from all three regions suggest that food insecurity is on the rise as teams struggled to get enough food assistance into the region, the situation is increasingly becoming dire.”
6. Medium shot, panellist in briefing room and speaker on screen.
7. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “It is absolutely vital that we have the full cooperation and support of all parties to the conflict so that we can reach all affected populations with urgently needed food assistance before we have a humanitarian catastrophe on our hands across all of Northern Ethiopia.”
8. Medium shot, participants taking notes.
9. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “We have had positive news and in recent weeks, security issues have in largely overcome and five convoys, including 71 trucks have entered the region between five and the 29 of September. Additionally, the vast majority of commercial trucks have not been able to return from Tigray, which has been one of the major impediments to the delivery of cargo as we have struggled to convene convoys.”
10. Close shot of one participant at the press briefing conference.
11. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP):” The combined needs of the humanitarian sector mean that 100 trucks need to be arriving daily to provide food baskets of cereals, pulses and vegetable oil to 210,000 people a day.”
12. Close shot of one participant at the press briefing conference.
13. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “Fuel stocks in Tigray are running critically low and fuel is vital to keep operations running and facilitating the movement of humanitarian aid into and across the region. We need 200,000 litres of fuel entering Tigray each week to keep operations running.”
14. Medium shot, participants attending the conference.
15. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “We need 184 million to continue to scale up the response in northern Ethiopia, whilst for all its activities in the country, WFP has a funding shortfall of 426 million dollars.”
16. Medium shot, inside the press conference room, showing speakers and participants.
17. SOUNDBITE (English): Tomson Piri, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “Up to 7 million people across the three regions now (Tigray, Amhara and Afar) are now in dire need of food assistance. So you have about 5.2 million people in Tigray and the rest are in Afar and Amhara. In terms of our plan, WFP aims to reach almost 3.5 million people across the 3 regions: 2.7 million in Tigray, 210,000 in Amhara and up to 540,000 in Afar in the next round of distribution.”
18. Close shot of participant at the briefing.
19. Medium shot, participants at the briefing.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR , WHO
The past two months of intensifying Israeli bombardment in Lebanon have been the “deadliest and most devastating” in decades as communities uprooted from the front line have continued to flee across the border to Syria, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
2
1
3
Edited News | UNOG
“State of Silence”: Diego Luna brings the fight to protect the press to the UN in Geneva
Mexican actor, producer and director Diego Luna has brought his fight to protect journalists all the way to the United Nations, in Geneva. Together with documentary director Santiago Masa, he is putting a spotlight on the silencing of investigative journalism in his country, and on the incredibly high price that many journalist have to pay in pursuit of truth.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Today marks the grim milestone of 1,000 days since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale armed attack on Ukraine. Our Office has verified that at least 12,162 civilians have been killed since 24 February 2022, among them 659 children. At least another 26,919 civilians have been injured,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurance told the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
With COP29 in Baku now in its second - and final - week, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has reiterated his call for urgent human rights-based climate action.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL , UNICEF , WHO
Lebanon: Increased violence along Blue Line and ‘horrific new normal’ for children
In southern Lebanon, peacekeepers have witnessed “shocking” destruction of villages along the Blue Line and ever-deeper Israeli ground incursions, while the situation of children across the country is becoming increasingly desperate, the UN said on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNRWA
The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, confirmed on Monday that a large convoy of humanitarian aid was looted inside Gaza at the weekend, amid a near-total a breakdown in law and order and harassment of the agency’s staff by Israeli soldiers.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
In the nearly 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thousands of civilians have been killed, the country’s energy infrastructure is on the brink and drones terrify communities on the front line, the UN’s top aid official in the country said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Mexican actor, producer and director Diego Luna took a break from the big screen on Thursday to highlight the dangers faced by journalists in his country and beyond, condemning murders of reporters everywhere as “a scandal”.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: ‘People are losing hope’ as aid access is refused to north, warns UNRWA
Besieged northern Gaza is a place of dead bodies lying in the streets and hospitals running out of blood packs – a situation that’s “nothing short of catastrophic”, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence & Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, on Gaza
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Sudan’s displaced have endured “unimaginable suffering” in their search for shelter from the country’s ongoing war, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘Exceptional achievement’: Humanitarians reach over 105,000 with polio vaccine in north Gaza
Despite ongoing attacks and access challenges, humanitarians have managed to inoculate over 105,000 children in north Gaza with the second and final dose of the oral polio vaccine, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.