The UN has organized the first financial and humanitarian aid for civilians caught up in Ethiopia’s Tigray region conflict. The weeks of fighting left hundreds of people dead, thousands displaced and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance,
In its efforts to help people in the Tigray region, the UN bodies have released US$35.6 million for water, sanitation, medical supplies and protection for civilians. As a result of the short regional war, more than 50,000 people, almost half of them children, have fled in Sudan since November.
In Ethiopia, the UN’s emergency funds will help health facilities get medicines, gloves and other supplies to care for the sick and injured, and fund nutrition, drinking water and shelter. In Sudan, the funding will prioritize life-saving assistance to refugees, including shelter, health care and drinking water, the UNCERF website reports.
“After six weeks of conflict, the civilian toll is mounting. Women and children arrive in Sudan with disturbing stories of violence, deprivation and abuse. Many have not made it out,” said Mark Lowcock, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. He added as well that the humanitarian organizations urgently need unfettered access now.
This year, 18 country-based pooled funds have allocated $689 million to 600 partner organizations so far (with another $102 million under approval).
